


The Quest To Become a Dragon... Again

by kittyface27



Series: ASL and Whitebeard Pirates [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, ASL and Whitebeard Pirates, Alive Thatch (One Piece), Dragon AU, Drama, Fantasy, Gen, Gyojin-tou | Fishman Island, Insecurities, PTSD, Portgas D. Ace Lives, Quest, Traumatic Backstory, bending cannon a bit, child!luffy, cranky Luffy, dragon - Freeform, dragon luffy, dragons in cannon world, human Ace and Sabo, human bashing, humans are bad, imperfect MC, kleptomaniac Luffy, nosy and smart Marco, ooc luffy, some emotional moments, tons and tons of dragons throughout
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 82,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21656515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyface27/pseuds/kittyface27
Summary: When dragon Luffy is cursed into a human body, he and his human brothers desperately want to change him back. But, once they are rescued by the Whitebeards, Luffy, a prideful, uneasy, and human-hating dragon trapped in a child's body, has a lot of trouble around the prejudiced human pirates who SAY they want to fix him. But, will the continuous visits from curious dragons deter them? And will Luffy even last that long as he is?
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace & Sabo
Series: ASL and Whitebeard Pirates [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684372
Comments: 46
Kudos: 331





	1. The Cursed Dragon

**Back again with another ASL + Whitebeards story. BUT! I have successfully made it so that Luffy is not a perfect little angel that everyone adores! Something I always do for child!Luffy stories. Beware for prideful and somewhat cranky dragon Luffy. The story gets a little graphic near the end so I'm not sure if I'll rate it at M yet.**

**I love writing dragon stories and this one has A LOT of emphasis on dragons and their culture and place in the One Piece world as well as their relationships with humans. Enjoy~**

* * *

"No, Lu, you have to wait for it to cook," Ace scolded as Luffy attempted to eat the fish he had taken from the pile raw. Luffy glowered at him and hoarded the shiny, silver fish, not letting Ace have it to cook it. Luffy bit into its head, blood dripping down his mouth. Ace sighed, revolted but knowing it was what Luffy was used to.

"Luffy, now that you're in a human body, you have to stop eating raw meat. I know you like raw meat more, but it could get you sick. You don't want to be sick with a human illness, right?" Sabo stressed. Luffy looked at the fish, his almost black eyes looking sad, before he nodded and handed the headless fish back to Ace, who skewered it and held it over the campfire the three had made.

Luffy didn't like the smell of cooked meat, but he didn't want to get sick, like Sabo had said. But. it was easier said than done to break a habit you've done your entire life. He frowned as he looked at his human hand, nails short and utterly useless. His adoptive brothers looked at him in pity, knowing this was hard for him to deal with. After all, he'd lived his first twelve years of life as a dragon. Now he was trapped as a human for who knows how long.

Luffy felt strange with no weight on his lower back or shoulders, missing his wings and tail. His teeth were as useless as the human fingernails, as they were mostly short and only good for chewing things. He couldn't bite into a thick neck to kill his prey anymore.

The dragon felt claustrophobic in his new body. Suffocating in the restrictions he felt from it. Ace and Sabo used to be weaker than he was, and now here he was, the one needing to be protected by his brothers. He was used to being the one to do the protecting, even if his brothers were many years older than him. Both were eightteen and Luffy was twelve.

Such an age difference hadn't mattered when they were different species from each other, but now Luffy was the helpless human child, useless and a burden. He didn't understand why he had to wear clothes when he wasn't cold, or why he had to adopt manners and not steal shiny objects anymore. All shiny things were his, so why wasn't he allowed to hoard the shiny things he found?

The few humans on the island had so many shiny objects he could have stolen before and no one would have fought back. But now, he was vulnerable and could get in trouble for stealing, even if all shiny or sparkly things were _his._ His alone. Ace and Sabo kept spending the jewels and gold they stole from others, and it was a waste in Luffy's eyes. Just take things like they did to get the money.

But, they had convinced him they only stole from bad people and paid for other things they needed. Luffy still thought he should be able to keep some of the gold, but now that he had a human body, he was unable to eat the jewels to keep them safe. He would get sick or injured if he ate any solid objects. It was stupid. He hated this, but they had no way to change him back.

That witch was dead. Sabo hit her too hard and she died from the head injury. Now, Luffy had no way to change back. And he desperately wanted to. He missed flying, and hunting. Flying the most. It had been the freest feeling. Now he was stuck to the ground, unable to even control his movements well enough to climb a tree.

After the three ate dinner, Luffy hating the taste and feel of cooked meat, the three began to help Luffy practice in his new body. Walking on two legs was difficult, and moving his arms and legs in such ways felt unnatural and wrong. Everything about the human body was wrong. His mouth was so small now, small and round. Barely good enough to eat with.

Luffy couldn't speak either. He had never spoken in dragon form, though he had been able to communicate with his human brothers fine just by expression, sounds and body language. Now that he was capable of speech, he was unable to make the sounds correctly, and most of his "words" came out as garbled moans. _Useless._

The three walked for a few hours around the forest, Luffy holding both of their hands to help with balancing as he felt walking on two legs was useless and you weren't very fast. Now he was limited in such a way. The former dragon was glad his brothers were being so understanding even when Luffy was now a burden to them instead of an asset.

The human had tried using his ice, but it wouldn't work. He couldn't get any ice breath from his tiny human mouth and his new hands wouldn't form anything even close to ice. Not even cool vapor. At least Ace and Sabo were strong for humans. Now Luffy really was the helpless little brother.

After seeing his state of mind, Ace and Sabo shared a look that they should be getting home. Maybe rubbing Luffy like they used to would cheer him up. Neither of them were happy with this either, but weren't impacted as much as Lu was. He was a completely different being than he'd been a week ago. A completely different species, so different than a dragon that it was crazy.

Sabo felt guilt for taking away the chance of Luffy turning back, but all they could hope for was to find another witch to undo the spell or curse. Whatever you want to call it, it was cruel and sick to do something like this to someone. Sabo had been too angry when he hit her, and hadn't expected the witch to die so easily. He thought witches were supposed to be strong, but he was wrong apparently.

Luffy was unable to climb the ladder to their tree house, having trouble moving his limbs in such a way, so Ace had him hold onto his back so he could get them both up. When Luffy was in dragon form, he just flew up easily, taking about three seconds and getting up much faster than his human brothers who had to use the rope ladder.

Now, he had to be carried up until he could use his limbs properly other than walking. When the three got up, Luffy looked down sadly and went to the corner he slept in and curled up, hiding his face in his arm. Ace and Sabo looked at him sadly, but Sabo knew what he had to do.

The blonde teen walked to his little brother, now so much more space in the treehouse without the horse sized dragon there anymore. He sat down next to him and pulled the now human into his chest, rubbing the back of his neck while Ace came over and started massaging his scalp. Neither commented on the tears being soaked into Sabo's chest.

"You're not a burden," Sabo said soothingly. "And this isn't your fault." Luffy sniffled, but didn't give any sort of reply that he'd heard the older brother. "Until we can get you changed back, we'll take care of you like you have us. It's what family does; take care of each other in their times of need." Ace agreed, nodding his head though Luffy was facing away from him.

The boy eventually fell asleep in Sabo's arms. It was strange for them to be able to fit Luffy into their arms. Usually, they would be in Luffy's grip since he had been bigger than them. Sabo looked sadly to Ace, who also wore a sad expression. He let out a sigh and brought the blanket over, draping it around the boy. Luffy snuggled in closer to Sabo, and Ace leaned against his brother's side, and the three fell asleep.

They would try their best to teach Luffy how to be human while he was one, until they could find a witch to change him back. No matter what happened, Ace and Sabo would be there for their younger brother, in whatever form he was in.

-x-

Luffy's progress was at a snail's pace. Even two weeks later, gross motor function was difficult and fine motor almost impossible. He could hold things, but moving single fingers was difficult. The presence of a pinky finger was also giving him difficulties. He had had hands in dragon form with opposable thumbs, but no pinky finger and the things were much smaller in his dragon body.

Ace and Sabo couldn't imagine how frustrated Luffy was. And he had attempted speaking, but only random syllables that sounded like he was gargling marbles came out. Luffy was used to growling and roaring loudly, not speaking.

He was also having trouble with eating cooked food. When Ace or Sabo wasn't looking, multiple times he'd devoured a fish or piece of meat raw. It tasted much better to him not cooked, as he was used to it like that and preferred it that way. He didn't like how much more difficult it was to eat meat now with his little and squarish teeth. He missed ripping into things with ferocity. His old teeth tore through meat very effectively.

Climbing was still a no-go, and Ace made sure not to show any sort of annoyance with having to carry him up. Despite his large size in dragon form, human Luffy was very small. Small for a twelve year old child. He looked more the size of an eight year old than a pre-teen. Being so small also meant he was very weak compared to previously. He couldn't carry anything very heavy without being exhausted.

Luffy was also irritated with his dull human senses. His sense of smell, sight and hearing were almost nothing compared to his dragon senses. With human sight, a few unnamed colors were missing in his human eyes. He couldn't hunt for anything with senses like this and being unable to fight at all was irritating beyond belief. He had to hide when Ace and Sabo fought something for a meal.

All in all, Luffy hated being human and now felt pity for the humans that he'd never felt before. They were so helpless and weak compared to dragons. He was impressed that Ace and Sabo could keep up with him at all when he was a dragon.

His brother did their best to help him, though progress was practically nonexistent. But, Luffy was still their brother, no matter what form he was in or what he could contribute in their daily life of hunting and fighting. Luffy was still their precious brother who now needed protection and they would do so without question and hesitation.

-x-

If Luffy had been in dragon form still, he would have been able to sense the fire before it had blanketed the sky with smoke. Sabo was the one to wake up from the dense smoke, and sat up quickly, running to the side of the treehouse to see a red hue in the distance and half of the sky dark. "Get up! Ace, Luffy, get up! We have to run!" Sabo shouted, strapping his pipe to his back.

Ace and Luffy both got up quickly, not knowing what the problem was until they smelled and saw the smoke. Sabo slid down the ladder, hurting his hands but not paying attention to it. Ace tossed Luffy down to his brother, who caught the small boy easily. Ace slid down as well, not having his pipe. Only Sabo had his as the three ran through the forest and alongside animals fleeing as well.

Luffy was too slow, so Sabo picked him up and threw him over his shoulder as the two older brothers sprinted through the woods, coughing as the smoke permeated the air and made their eyes sting. Whatever had caused the fire didn't matter now. It was spreading alarmingly fast.

When the three breached the edge of the forest and into the farmland, they saw that humans were evacuating on ships. The three headed towards the docks, but suddenly, the fire touched the wheat and spread even faster than it had in the forest. Luffy coughed painfully, crying silently. If he was a dragon, he could fly them all to safety. It would be his fault they burned to death or suffocated in the smoke. He knew there were no nearby islands to go to, and that they'd be floating around Grand Line waters.

The fire cut across their path and made them stumble to a sudden stop. Luffy was jared on Sabo's shoulder, and couldn't see the fire in front of him. Sabo and Ace turned to the side and started running horizontal to the fire. It was about to jump from one patch of wheat to the one the three brothers were currently running through.

They reached the shore, but there were no ships. Just a piece of dock that had been broken and was resting half submerged. Sabo put Luffy down not too gently and he and Ace dragged the wood into the water, thankful that it was able to float. Luffy awkwardly hurried over and jumped onto the wood. Sabo and Ace pushed the pathetic excuse for a raft out and far enough away from the shore that the fire didn't touch them.

None of the brothers could see the other boats in the thick smoke surrounding them and making the air poison. They knew they were floating in a different direction than the others, but they had no way to steer where they were going as none of them trusted to put their arms or legs into the water and risk something coming up to get them.

Tears streamed down Luffy's face as he watched his home burn. They would never return to the tree house. And Luffy could have gotten them to safety if he was in dragon form. They wouldn't be stranded in the middle of the Grand Line with no weapons but Sabo's pipe. Ace put his hand on Luffy's back.

"It's not your fault you couldn't fly us to safety. We got away, and either way, our home is gone. We'll just have to hope we end up at an island or someone comes and picks us up," Ace said soothingly, though he didn't believe the words. Luffy knew that he could have flown a long way to the next island and they wouldn't be at risk of sea kings, like they were now.

Sabo was watching the island burn with a hopeless look. He had escaped his noble family to be with Ace and then Luffy there. It had many bad memories, but immeasurable good ones, too. Luffy looked away and at the water below them. If he was a dragon, even if he couldn't fly, he would no doubt be able to fight off sea kings for his brother, or go hunting underwater while his brothers waited for him on the surface.

They didn't know if water dragons inhabited this area, but if they did, they hoped the dragons would be nice. They most likely wouldn't attack them, but Luffy probably couldn't communicate with them as he was now.

The little raft they had no control of drifted further away, slowly, until the burning island was a speck on the horizon, and the sky was clear again, though it was getting darker and later. The stars were out and suddenly it got very cold. The three were wearing clothes suitable for their summer island, not out on the sea in the middle of the night.

They took turns staying awake, with Luffy sleeping with Ace while Sabo waited. Luffy couldn't communicate if he saw anything, so he was paired with Ace on watch. All three of them were getting anxiety over being thirsty, which made them feel thirstier. And in the morning, the sun beat down on them harshly, and they had no protection from it. Luffy was the most vulnerable to the elements as he wasn't used to them like this.

Out of the three, Luffy was the coldest. His sunburns hurt the most. His aches in his body from sitting in a ball on the cramped piece of wood were the most uncomfortable. He sat and stared off into the distance, he endless horizon that showed no islands.

By the second day, all three of them had done the stupid thing and tried drinking sea water. Not much, for they came to their senses, but soon their skin was peeling from the dry air and being under the sun with no breaks or shade anywhere. Their stomachs were rumbling, and they had nothing to use as a fishing pole. Again, Luffy felt guilt for being unable to help them hunt or fly them somewhere safe.

It was a miracle that no sea kings had been interested in them. They had stayed silent most of the time just in case and it seemed to be working alright. But, when they were heading towards the first storm on the horizon, unable to turn away, they started to thrust their arms into the water and try to paddle away from the approaching storm.

But Grand Line storms were practically inescapable, so when it finally came to them, the three held onto the raft for dear life, also gripping each other tightly. They were quickly thrown off the little raft and tossed around in the waves. The three were still able to hold hands and stay together, even if it were to die together.

Somehow, they were able to stay alive in the storm, even if Luffy had almost been let go and separated. But, their little raft was gone, and they couldn't see it anywhere. They continued to be thrashed around and didn't see the ship until it was right in front of them, waves splashing against the hull and throwing them back away from it.

Sabo saw it first, and was the only one not exhausted enough to be able to shout, "H-Help! Help us!" Water filled his mouth as he shouted for help, but assumed no one would hear them over the storm and waves. But, someone's head peeked over the side of the ship and looked down at the boys, who were rapidly tiring too much to stay afloat anymore.

Just as they started to sink below the surface, too tired to stay up anymore, someone grabbed all three around the waist and brought them to the surface quickly, throwing them over his shoulders, as he was large, and climbed up a rope ladder to the deck of the large ship. The moment the three were safe, they passed out cold, and the pirates who's rescued them quickly brought the soaking child and teens inside and away from the storm.


	2. The Human Pirates

**nessa11997: Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy it!**

* * *

"How the hell are they still alive?" Thatch asked in shock when he was told that the three kids had been in the water of a Grand Line storm and had survived enough to be saved. All three of them were bruised from the impacts of the waves hitting them painfully hard. They were also each severely dehydrated, so they had IV bags of water since they were asleep and couldn't drink.

"Luck," Namur said, drying himself off with a towel. Some of the commanders were in the infirmary with the boys, who were now all in comfortable beds. "I have no idea where they came from, though. There are no islands anywhere near here."

Haruta looked at the youngest one, and asked, "I wonder how old they are?" The two older ones were clearly years above the smallest, who it was hard to tell his age. He looked very young, but could just be short for his age. And skinny.

"Well, however old or where they came from, they have amazing luck. I'm interested to hear their story," Izo said, standing against the nearest wall. The commanders all began to talk to each other and didn't notice when the youngest woke up. And growled at them.

The commanders turned around in surprise to see the youngest snarling at them with his lips pulled up. Izo raise his eyebrows. "Good morning to you, too. I see you're feeling better." The boy looked confused. "You were caught in a storm with those two and we pulled you out. You're on our ship now." The boy didn't respond, but still looked at them warily as he walked to Ace and Sabo's beds and stood in front of them protectively. But, he had stopped the growling.

"Kid, we didn't hurt any of you, so you don't need to be so on edge," Namur said, not too patient. After all, this kid was acting very ungrateful for them saving them from the storm. The kid narrowed his eyes at them, suspicious. "Hey!" Namur said in surprise when the kid started hitting his friends? Brothers? to try and wake them up.

Though it was harsh and unexpected, the two older ones woke up and shot up, startled from being awoken in such a way. But neither were angry at the youngest. After all, he had to be younger than ten.

"Luffy? What - where are we?" the blonde asked in surprise, noticing the other people in the room. Unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar place. Luffy shrugged, even though the Whitebeards had him they were on a ship.

"You're on our pirate ship. What on earth were you doing in the middle of the Grand Line in a storm?" Thatch asked as Luffy got closer to to the freckled teen and sat on his bed, leaning into him, though not in fear. More like a protective stance, even though he was smaller and weaker looking by both of the older kids. In their late teens most likely.

The three all frowned sadly, and Thatch wondered if he shouldn't have asked. "Our island caught on fire and we escaped on a little raft. The raft was destroyed in the storm and we were stuck there. Thank you for saving us," the blonde said with a polite bow, surprising the pirates since the youngest was feral acting to say the least.

"I'm Sabo, and he's Ace," Sabo said politely. Luffy was still glaring at the unfamiliar people. Namur was staring back with as much intensity, though not anger.

Izo looked over the three malnourished kids and asked, "How long were you on the raft?" Sabo answered a couple days. As if it was timed, all three stomachs rumbled loudly. "Do you… have any food?" Sabo asked warily.

Thatch nodded, and left immediately to get them some food. Izo looked at the state of them, and said, "Once you're done eating, take a shower and I'll have some clothes ready for Ace and Sabo. We don't have any clothes for a young child like Luffy."

Said boy growled at him and glared. Izo didn't understand what was up with this kid and why he was so damn hostile. "Luffy is twelve and doesnt appreciate being called a child." Izo was very surprised, based on the kid's small stature, but didn't say anything about it, not wanting to anger him anymore. He made a mental note to tell the others so they didn't mistakenly treat him as the age he looked.

"Can he not speak?" the crossdresser asked, since Luffy hadn't stood up for himself and corrected Izo, Ace had done it for him. Luffy looked even pissier with the question, though it was a valid one. He hadn't said a word since waking up, so Namur and Izo assumed he was mute. And they were right.

"Luffy can't speak," Sabo replied. He said it in a clipped voice, making them know not to bring it up again. Well, even if he couldn't speak, he still made noises, like the not too scary growls not long ago. The three kids stayed silent while they waited for the food, their stomachs rumbling. They also each looked exhausted and needed sleep. They probably did. After all, sleeping in the middle of the Grand Line with no protection would be dangerous.

When Thatch came back, he was carrying a tray with three bowls of soup with spoons in them. Ace and Sabo glanced worriedly to their younger friend/brother, confusing the pirates. Thatch set the steaming bowls of soup on the beds in front of the kids. Ace and Sabo started eating immediately, when Luffy was just staring at the spoon.

It confused the men even more when Luffy took the spoon and stuck it in his pocket, not using it for the soup, which he looked at in confusion. Ace said, "I'll help you eat in a second." Luffy nodded and waited, making the pirates wonder if he had some sort of learning disability and that's why he was acting so strange. But, why hide the spoon? It was nothing valuable.

Ace slurped the rest of the soup down, sighing from the good taste, and then spooned the soup into the boy's mouth. Thatch bristled when Luffy looked disgusted by the taste. Everyone liked his soup, so why was this starving kid not looking happy with it? His brothers liked it just fine! This kid confused them, and they were already off to a rough start with him.

Though, if he did have some sort of disability, then they'd try not to let his behavior bother them. When Luffy was done with the soup, a sour look on his face, Marco walked into the room with Whitebeard. The size of the captain must have startled Luffy, as he started growling at him. To say the newcomers were surprised was an understatement.

-x-

"Luffy, it's fine," Sabo said, standing up and making his way to Ace and Luffy's bed, taking the IV dripping water into him with him. Luffy quieted. He did notice the look the pineapple-head one made, and glared at him. Marco looked at him in confusion and shock, like he was looking at Luffy like he wasn't human. It worried the boy a bit.

If he was found out by _pirates_ of all people, it could be bad. Young dragons were extremely valuable and sought after. Those few humans that had tamed them as pets were seen as the strongest willed people alive, as dragons were extremely violent when hunted and captured. They were nothing new to the world, but neither was gold and that was still valuable.

Marco composed his expression and looked away from the boy. Whitebeard was intimidatingly big, and the boys now knew why the ceiling was so damn high. "These are the kids that were in the storm?" Izo nodded. "How did you manage to survive in a storm like that?" he asked in a slightly impressed voice. Sabo explained their situation again.

Marco frowned at their story. It was a sad one, that they had lost their entire island and were now homeless. And that look brought realization to the three. They were homeless. Where would they go? Would they be dropped off at a random island? They had to go somewhere to search for a witch to turn Luffy back to his original form.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Whitebeard said sincerely. Even though he seemed to be being nice, he was still too big for Luffy's liking, and he adopted the glare again when his attention was brought back from his situation to the large captain.

"My name is Whitebeard and I'm the captain of this ship," the man explained. The others introduced their names as well. Luffy still hadn't said anything to them, and those who didn't know he couldn't speak looked at him in expectation for some sort of acknowledgement.

Izo seemed to understand the looks his fellow crewmate and captain were making. "Luffy can't speak," he said simply, in a short voice. He was still irritated with Luffy's hostile behavior to those who had saved them from death. If they had been in that storm any longer, no one doubted they would have died. It really was sheer luck that they were still alive and not sinking to the bottom of the sea.

"Can I have the spoon back?" Thatch asked when he was collecting the empty bowls. Luffy growled at him and covered the spoon in his pocket with his hand. "Please?" the cook tried again. Luffy growled, but Sabo interjected.

"Give the spoon back, Lu. It's not yours," Sabo said, a strange look on his face. One of emphasis, and Luffy looked truly offended but then reluctantly handed Thatch the spoon, his whole fist closed around it instead of using any of his human fingers.

"Thank you," Thatch said to the sour looking little kid. He left the room with one last confused glance to Luffy, who looked sad that the shiny spoon was gone. He'd lost all of his treasure, the least he could have was a shiny silver spoon. Surely there were plenty of them. After all, Ace and Sabo had their own spoons, too! And he was offended at his brother saying the treasure wasn't his. It was always his! He just shared it with Ace and Sabo.

Dragons hoarded shiny things, even when they weren't valuable at all. Luffy had once refused to get rid of an old can that used to hold some sort of food long ago that had washed up on the shore of their island. The island that was gone or still burning. Luffy wondered if these pirates had any treasure that Luffy could take and keep. It was his, even if it wasn't _originally_ his. Any treasure he came across was his!

"Why don't you three go take some baths in the bath house? You can use the single one if you are uncomfortable bathing with other people," Marco offered, hiding the look of suspicion when he was facing Luffy.

Ace and Sabo had scars all over their body and so would rather not bathe with strangers that would look at them, no doubt. And Luffy would be awkward in the water most likely. He wasn't used to baths, and especially ones that involve soap and hair products. He used to just sit in the water and all the dirt on his scales would wash away.

Now he had his hair to take care of. Ace and sabo were unsure of why Luffy ended up with black hair when he'd been a blue dragon. They also had no idea why he had a scar under his eye, which he hadn't had as a dragon.

Ace told the pirates they'd like to use the private bathroom. First, they were given a lot of water to drink down their dry throat, though a little less than it had been after eating the soup. When the three followed Marco to the bathroom, Luffy noticed him peeking to the side at him often. This could be troublesome, but he had no way to convey what he wanted to his brothers.

Luffy, ever the feisty beast, growled at anyone that came to close to him, not trusting these humans one bit. He'd always been wary and hateful of humans other than Ace and Sabo, so being surrounded by them in a very vulnerable form made him uneasy. He wished they were alone again, but it was better than being drowned or stranded in the ocean again.

Ace or Sabo didn't say or do anything about Luffy's growling, knowing it was a moot point. He was around stranger humans after all, and they knew it made him uncomfortable due to having been hunted by them as a baby. He hated all humans besides Ace and Sabo.

Other pirates however, were shocked by the feral sounds the little kid was making at them for seemingly no reason. They just looked at him in surprise but didn't respond in any other way. Marco stayed silent during the walk, and eventually stopped glancing to Luffy. However, Luffy rarely took his eyes off of Marco's back.

This human seemed strong, but Luffy couldn't tell how strong in his current, _stupid_ form. The bathroom was small, but it was more than the brothers had ever had before, so they had no complaints. "Products are in the cupboards and towels in the closet. We'll have clothes ready for Ace and Sabo, but need to wash yours, Luffy."

Luffy glared at him and pointed at him to turn around while he took off his shirt and shorts, which were both too big for him as they hadn't been shopping since his transformation. Marco turned around and Luffy handed him his clothes from behind, standing halfway behind his brothers. Marco took the clothes and left the room without another word.

The three brothers filled the bathtub, which would be big enough for them all to share, and got inside. Luffy didn't like how hot the water was on his now sensitive skin, but didn't make any show that it bothered him.

He was unhappy when Ace started cleaning his hair, as Luffy couldn't move his arms in that way yet. It would be good practice for him to try, but they were all nervous and stressed and Luffy the most. He frowned as the knots in his black hair were untangled, as gently as Ace could.

Sabo was across from Luffy, washing his own hair. All three of them had oily hair, even after the sea water bath. They were also feeling sticky from the water, and the two eldest had to peel off the clothing they'd had for the last couple of days, as it was crusted to their skin. Luffy's fingernails were scrubbed with soap to get the dirt out from under them.

Once the water cooled all the way, the brothers got out and opened the door slightly to see new outfits folded in front of it. They seemed to be the right size for the two teens, so they assumed there was someone as small as they were on the ship. Most of those they'd seen so far were quite tall, even though Ace and Sabo were by no means short.

The other humans all towered over Luffy, and once again he hated his unintimidating size. He probably looked really weak to the humans, and he hated that he really was. He was a dragon for heaven's sake! He should be bigger and stronger than all of these humans, except maybe Whitebeard. He was taller than Luffy had been on all fours.

Though Luffy was sure he weighed more than the giant human. If he even was a human, that is. Were humans even capable of being that big? Luffy was still naked as his clothes hadn't been brought back, and he shivered until Ace and Sabo wrapped their towels around him. The towels were still wet, but he appreciated the move to comfort him and rubbed his face against Ace's arm affectionately.

Neither brother had ever mentioned that Luffy's dragon form rubbing his head against them had been uncomfortable since his scales had been so hard and rough. But they knew that dragons did that to other dragons when wanting to be affectionate. Ace smiled and pat Luffy's head.

There was a knock on the door, not much later, and Luffy was given his clothes again, though they hung off him, making him look even smaller than he already was. They'd been in the bath longer than they thought, so long that the clothes had been washed and dried.

Luffy dressed, glad to be warm again, and the three walked out of the bathroom, not really knowing where to go now. Sabo for them to go to the left, though had no idea where they were going or where anything was. Luffy was holding onto Ace's arm closely, every once and awhile rubbing his cheek against it.

The child didn't care if anyone thought it was weird, he was showing his brother he loved and appreciated him. These humans could think what they want, it wasn't like he'd given off a good first impression anyway. The three ended up in a large room full of books, and Sabo's eyes practically sparkled at the library and how big it was.

He hurried off to the nearest shelf and read all the bindings, finding most of that section was for navigation. Luffy walked to the couch in the corner and poked it, never having come into contact with something like this. He deemed it safe after it didn't do anything unexpected, and sat on it, sinking into the comfy surface.

When Luffy grabbed a pillow and held it to his chest, Ace chuckled and followed him. He couldn't read like Sabo could, so the books held no interest or meaning to him. "Are you comfortable?" Ace asked with a smile, getting a nod from his little brother.

A little while after entering the library, Sabo sitting at the nearby table with a stack of books he was interested in, one of the humans Luffy had growled at in passing entered, looking for the three. Luffy narrowed his eyes at him and tightened the pillow in his arms, for once being possessive over something that _wasn't_ shiny. The large man with what looked like balls on his head gave Luffy a strange look. Though none of the brothers could blame him. For a human, Luffy was acting very strangely.

Normal humans didn't growl at other ones, or steal utensils right in front of people. And they could talk and eat soup on their own. "Pops - the captain - wants to speak with you three. My name is Jozu," the large man said. Sabo looked disappointed with leaving the books he'd barely gotten to read at all.

"C'mon Luffy, leave the pillow," Sabo said when he and Ace had stood up to follow Jozu, Sabo leaving the books on the table to visit later. Luffy looked scandalized at being told _twice_ that day that he had to leave things he viewed as treasure behind. He glared at Sabo but put the pillow down.

But, when Sabo gave him an apologetic look, Luffy's anger at him melted away. The three followed the large man through the ship and ended up in a large, circular room with a huge table with seventeen seats. Only two of them were filled, with the captain and Marco. Marco looked very small in his seat next to the captain's giant seat. Even sitting down, he was huge.

Ace and Sabo sat at the chairs furthest away from the two, Luffy sitting down, and looking uncomfortable. There were no chairs at home, so he wasn't used to this position and had never sat like this, with his feet hanging over the side of the chair. He assumed the seat was for someone much bigger and that's why he felt so small on it.

"Now that you are all here on our ship, we have to figure out what to do with you," Whitebeard said in his rumbling voice, though he didn't sound like he meant them any harm. Luffy growled anyway, not liking the way he worded it.

"You sure are a feisty one, aren't you?" the big man asked with a chuckle. "We mean none of you any harm. We just need to figure out where we will take you. The next island is a week away from here, but it is uninhabited."

He and Marco were surprised when Ace said, "That's fine. We lived on a mostly uninhabited island anyways."

"How will you get supplies like clothes or medicine, though?" Marco asked. It was a good question. Especially the medicine part, since Luffy's saliva couldn't used to treat and clean wounds anymore. Again, he was so useless… and would any witches live on a completely uninhabited island?

The three had no answer to that, so stayed silent. "We'll take you to the next island with some people there. From there, you can go wherever you like," Whitebeard said. Luffy was uncomfortable with this, and Ace asked how far that would be.

"At the least, two weeks. At the most, three, depending if we run into any trouble. Until then, we'll feed and keep you safe. Though, I'd recommend Luffy stop growling at the crew for no reason."

"He has a reason," Ace said automatically. Whitebeard and Marco raised their eyebrows in question, but Ace shrunk down, knowing he shouldn't have said anything. "He's not gonna stop, so just tell your people to get over it."

Marco didn't like Ace's attitude, but the teen threw him a challenging look, as if daring him to counter what he'd said. Whitebeard put his hand on Marco's shoulder and the man relaxed. The argument was over, and Whitebeard asked how old they were.

Ace and Sabo both answered, "Eighteen," at the same time, and told them that Luffy was twelve. The boy gave them a challenging expression, daring them to comment on his size, but they didn't. Marco then asked a question he and the others had no doubt been wondering.

"Why can't he speak? He's clearly not mute as he growls and snarls."

"None of your business," Ace said harshly. Marco frowned at his attitude. Both is and Luffy's, as Sabo seemed polite and hadn't backtalked once or growled at anyone.

"We saved you three, so you should show some more respect," Marco said, though not in a sharp tone, even with the disapproving expression on his face. Luffy wanted to counter that no human but Ace and Sabo deserve respect, since they're heinous creatures that hunt and cage dragons for fun. Hunted and killed Luffy's mother and siblings.

Ace countered with, "You're all strangers. How would we know whether you deserve respect or not?" They were surprised when Whitebeard started laughing. Marco frowned at him, clearly disapproving that Whitebeard wasn't being harsher on the brothers.

"That's a good point, but you should show at least _some_ respect for people who are going out of their way to help and feed you." Luffy didn't like the food from before, and wished he was given raw meat or fish, his usual diet that he'd lived off of for twelve years, and he was now not allowed to. All human food was disgusting to him. Especially when it's cooked food.

Sabo sent a look to Ace and Luffy, like he was scolding them with his expression. "Ace and Luffy don't know what manners are, so please forgive them."

"Hey! I know what manners are!" Ace shouted back. But Sabo continued to speak to the pirates as if Ace hadn't said anything.

"They both grew up in the forest, so they're brutes," Sabo explained. And Luffy and Ace couldn't counter it, and it gave them a good excuse for being rude. "You're lucky Ace could even use a spoon." Ace hit his shoulder hard, and Luffy smiled for the first time in awhile, very glad his brothers were safe now, even if Luffy hadn't done anything to help them stay that way.

"Well, try your best then to be polite. And not growl for no reason," Marco said in a bored voice. Luffy gave him a hostile look, the soft smile gone quickly. He wouldn't stop growling if any humans got close to him. They might have an ulterior motive and want to trap Luffy if they found out about what had happened to him and what he really was.

Whitebeard asked, "Has Luffy eaten a zoan devil fruit and that's why he growls?" Sabo knew what a devil fruit was, though Ace didn't, and said, "Yes. But he can't control it." Ace and Luffy knew better than to contradict a lie told from Sabo, who was the smart one of the trio. If he felt he needed to lie, then they'd go with it and trusted him.

"What type?" Marco wondered. Sabo lied smoothly again, "Wolverine." They each knew that wolverines were quite aggressive, so it was a god lie.

"Well, now it makes sense," Whitebeard said. "They are quite aggressive, are they not?" Ace and Sabo nodded. And they tasted good, but neither of them said that. "Still, there is no reason to growl. Though if you can't control the fruit, then we won't hold it against you to act like your zoan. Hopefully you can control it some day."

Ace and Sabo nodded while Luffy had his eyes flick back and forth between the pirates, but was unable to spot a lie. "Why don't you all go to the nurses and have them look after your sunburns? They look painful."

The three brothers got up and left, Jozu standing outside to lead them to the infirmary, as Whitebeard had asked him to stand by.

-x-

"They're lying," Marco said after the boys left the room and closed the door. "Sabo is a good one, too. Luffy doesn't have a devil fruit,as he was able to stay above the water in the storm. A devil fruit user becomes deadweight immediately and will sink themselves and anyone weak that tries to bring them up."

"Yes, they are lying. And as far as I know, from the encyclopedia of devil fruits, there is no wolverine zoan," Whitebeard replied. "It also doesn't explain why Luffy can't speak, and why he stole a _spoon._ "

Marco leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. "Izo said he might have some sort of disability. And that was why he couldtn feed himself and seems awkward with his movements. I walked with him down the hall, and he was slow and his gait uncomfortable. There's something off about Luffy."

"Well, we'll go along with their lie until we find out what is really the situation with them. I do believe their story about the island burning, and feel bad for them." Whitebeard then looked to the side and down at Marco, who had a deep frown on. "What is it, son?"

Marco sighed, but responded, "My phoenix senses are telling me to keep an eye out for Luffy. That he's dangerous, despite his size and age."

Whitebeard frowned, too, knowing Marco's zoan senses were always reliable. "How strong?" Marco shook his head.

"I don't know. He feels dangerous, but he can barely do anything without his brother's help, so I don't know what would be dangerous about it, and he doesn't have a devil fruit like that say. Why would they lie about it instead of just having Luffy stop acting so hostile for no reason?"

"Well, Ace said that he has a reason. We just don't know what it is. But, we'll monitor him. If he's a real threat, then we can drop them off at the next island," Whitebeard said, but had never been the best liar.

"You don't really want to do that though, do you?" Marco asked, already knowing the answer. After spending decades with the captain, he could almost tell what the man was thinking. Whitebeard shook his head.

"They're just brats, I don't want to leave them on an isolated and uninhabited island in the Grand Line. Especially with Luffy being so young and small," Whitebeard explained. Marco shook his head, though in a fond way.

"You're too kind for your own good sometimes," the phoenix zoan said deprecatingly. Whitebeard chuckled.

"I guess I fail as a pirate, then," he replied, standing up from his chair, Marco following so they could go talk to the others and tell them that Luffy had a zaon fruit so everyone would stop getting upset over the growling. Though, they really wanted to know the reason Ace said Luffy had. To be so antisocial. Though, growing up in the woods would most likely make you a bit uncomfortable around hundreds of other people you don't know. So, Marco could forgive Luffy a bit for that.

Maybe the kid just didn't know how to deal with his emotions so fear or unease made him hostile. Though it still didn't explain why he couldn't speak, or wouldn't. The boys were lying about the devil fruit, so they could be lying about Luffy just not _wanting_ to speak.

"You don't fail as a pirate, you just have a good soul sometimes," Marco said while the two walked down the tall hallways and to the galley, where Thatch most likely was and they could spread the word about the fake devil fruit. Not everyone needed to know that it was fiction, but it would hopefully make people less upset with the hostile growling that the youngest made.

"Sometimes," Whitebeard mused. "You don't think I should be making my crew walk the plank for playing a prank and making a mess?"

Marco pretended to consider. "If you were going to do that we'd be out a chef and intelligence member."

"We sure would be in a bind, I guess. So, I won't have them walk the plank, though no type of punishment seemed to make them stop. I've given up at this point and now you get to make the decisions," the captain said, though he spoke of his children fondly. When the two reached Thatch, they explained to him the situation, but left out the fact that they knew Luffy didn't have a devil fruit. He was told to spread the word, mostly about Luffy's seemingly aggressive behavior.

Thatch looked like a light bulb went off above his head. "So _that's_ why he's so hostile. Well, that makes things easier!" Marco kept a blank face on, favoriting the lie over the truth, since they didn't know the whole truth. For the time being, the lie was more convenient. Until they had some real information about what was up with Luffy, they'd stick to the devil fruit lie.

"Do wolverines like shiny things? Why did he take the spoon?" Thatch wondered. Marco had no answer for him, and moved on to the next nearest commander, who would filter the information to the lower members of the crew. Everyone would be irritated that the captain and first mate had lied, but it was better than having fights about how disrespectful Luffy was.

When Marco turned to the side, he saw Luffy drooling at one of the fish laid out on the large kitchen counter as Thatch made lunch. Marco watched discreetly out of the corner of his eye when Luffy snatched a small fish, only to be scolded by his brothers. They got in an argument, with Luffy not saying anything but holding the fish in a protective manner.

He honed his senses and listened closely to what Ace was saying. "No more raw meat or fish. It'll make you sick - goddamnit, Lu!" Ace said when Luffy ran off with the fish, and the two chased after him. They brought some attention to themselves and the few who were watching, as it was nowhere close to lunch, cringed in disgust when Luffy ate the little fish whole. It was raw, and not like sushi raw.

Ace and Sabo looked frustrated at Luffy, but the boy looked back at them just as defiantly. Marco wondered why the two teens let Luffy do whatever he wants without reprimand. Though, they weren't parents, but big brothers. Still, they should be able to at least enact _some_ control over the kid.

"Lu, we don't want you to get sick," Sabo said gently, kneeling down in front of the boy and holding both of his shoulders. "We don't want to see you get ill, and we're trying to get you to change your diet so you stay healthy. Okay? We love you, and don't want to see you hurt or sick." Luffy looked ashamed at his actions and nodded his head sadly. He then hugged Sabo and rubbed his face against the blonde's neck.

"What are you lookin' at?" Ace barked at everyone who had been watching them. They were all surprised by the harsh reprimand and looked away. Marco continued to watch, though Ace couldn't tell.

Thatch had left to go into the kitchen deeper and Whitebeard had left as well, leaving Marco as the only higher up that had seen the strange interaction. Did Luffy usually eat raw meat? That's what it sounded like when Sabo said "change your diet", meaning eating raw meat was for some reason a regular for the kid.

Even if he _was_ a zoan, he would be a human first. He would rather eat human food than raw meat. And his interactions were strange, though it had secretly touched the phoenix's heart when Sabo looked at him in such caring eyes, and Luffy hugging him tightly. The brothers really did care for each other. Though, Luffy's behavior was still confounding to the first mate.

The three left the galley in a hurry, Luffy holding onto Sabo's arm and rubbing his cheek against it. Ace ruffled Luffy's hair affectionately, and then they were gone. Marco would continue to observe Luffy, his curiosity and want to know the truth making him antsy. The man was usually chill most of the time, and never got very curious about things, but this kid was such a mystery.

It didn't help that he couldn't understand what it was about him that set his phoenix senses off. He just acted like a weird kid. He was helpless and weak and unable to speak, so _why was he dangerous?_ Marco wanted to rip his hair out in frustration of the building questions inside him. He would need to be patient. He had time to figure it out, at least a week.

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**Luffy has a reason to be cranky. A prideful dragon surrounded by "dirty" humans. After all, he has a very unpleasant past with them, besides his brothers. Who don't count.**


	3. Confusing Behavior

**Kurosaki Shiro: Some of your predictions are close to what happens! Don't worry about the lies too much. Marco is very smart. ;)**

**nessa11997: <3 <3 <3 **

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**Shorter chapter than the last one. We get to see some sweet Thatch-ness. Enjoy~**

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"Some of them saw you eat the fish, Lu. It's not been a good start for you. I know you aren't used to so many humans - after what happened I don't blame you for being hostile - but your behavior is attracting too much attention. The growling needs to stop, at least when it's not spurred on by someone doing something negative. Until we get you back to normal, you have to act the role. You need to act human," Sabo explained near the back of the ship, keeping his voice low.

"We know that you're still having trouble with movement, and that's not your fault and it's not your fault you can't speak yet, but you can control the growling and eating raw meat. You'll give yourself away if you continue on like this."

Luffy scowled. They knew why Luffy was so uncomfortable, and could sympathize with him, but he also needed to tone down the hostility. Though, all of this behavior was completely normal for dragons, who were fiercely protective of anything that they saw as valuable, even if it wasn't originally theirs.

It was also normal for a dragon to start trying to show dominance over their setting, which was a part of Luffy's growling. He felt that dragons were above humans, and therefore he was better than them. Sabo and Ace knew that they would hate humans after what they did, too, but it was still over the top.

"For now, don't growl as much. If someone touches you, then growl. Let them know they can't be touching you, but don't growl just because you pass one in the hall. I know it's hard for you to be here, especially now, after what happened, but we're stuck here for now. We can't get off this ship for the next week. We have to behave properly, okay?" Sabo stressed, trying to get Luffy to understand the severity of his behavior as he is a human.

"Humans who behave like you are behaving are usually punished for it by their guardian or whoever is a rank above them. You know how me and Ace act, try to mimic that. I know the two of us are your only examples, and Ace is a monster, too, but do try to be civil," Sabo said emphatically. Luffy frowned but nodded. He'd try his best to not growl. But it was hard not to! He had no other way to convey what he was feeling, and he couldn't exactly roar to tell someone they were too close. So, all he could do was growl.

Ace was leaning against the railing, making sure no one was listening. After the raw fish thing, people had been watching them strange, which was why they went to the furthest area of the ship away from people to talk about the sensitive material.

Ace had to disagree with Sabo. To him, Luffy was acting fine. If that was the only way Lu could tell people they were too close without physically harming them, then leave it. But, the raw meat thing was really bothering him. Ace had eaten uncooked meat before, and it made him violently ill. He didn't want to see that happen to Luffy. Luffy was their precious brother, even if he wasn't so small and helpless, and they did their best to return the favor from his protection.

Luffy had protected them plenty of times, and now they had to protect him, but he was making it difficult for the brothers. Ace and Sabo knew it was in his nature, and he was exceedingly stressed, and that the presence of hundreds of unfamiliar humans had been putting a real strain on him, and they hadn't even been here a whole day yet.

Ace remembered his first meeting with Luffy clearly.

_Ace was walking through the forest, a seven year old, walking to the nearest city to sell the crocodile skin he'd skinned after killing the beast. He froze when he heard a loud gunshot go off in the distance, and then hid in a bush, not knowing where it had come from. It was dark out, so it was even harder to know where the sound had come from._

_The boy was deep inside the forest, near the mountain resting in the middle of the island. He knew there weren't many people on the island but him and two small cities, one in poverty and the other walled up for rich people. So, who else was in the forest?_

_When he heard a crashing noise, he ran out of the way just as a tree collapsed, right where he'd been standing. He did the smart thing and dropped the skin, running as far and as fast as he could from the noises he was hearing._

_Ace wasn't a stranger to the sounds of dragons. He knew they weren't common here, but he also knew there were some living deep in the forest of the island. He had never come into direct contact with them, but for as long as he could remember he'd shared the forest with at least one dragon, and had never been attacked by them._

_Whenever Ace went into town, the small one where he bought shoes and some clothes, where dragons were seen as an enemy, that hunted humans for fun. But he didn't agree with that, even at a young age. If they really were man eaters, why was Ace still alive after years of sharing the habitat with them?_

_And as far as Ace knew, there had never been any dragon attacks on the settlements, no matter how big or small they were. That fact made him believe that dragons wanted to live separately from humans, and didn't prefer to eat them over other animals, like some humans said they did._

_The boy had come across left overs from the dragons' meals, and the dead animals, what was usually left was muscle and bone. All of the fatty tissue had been eaten away. Ace knew that most humans weren't very fatty, so the dragons wouldn't be interested in eating them. Not including other reasons a dragon might not want to be around humans, having seen what the dragons left behind made him sure that humans weren't their preferred source of food._

_He heard a loud roar, and covered his ears as he ran from the sound. Then, a human scream of agony that was then cut off in a squeal. Ace had tears of fear in his eyes as he ran from the scary noises. The sounds of trampling trees and heavy pants were extremely loud and seemed to be following him._

_It was the pitiful whimper he heard that had him stop in his tracks, no longer fleeing from the noises. The loud breathing had ceased, and all he heard were quiet whimpers, like a lost wolf pup. Ace couldn't help but slowly and cautiously walked back the way he had come, drawn to the sad whimpering._

_Ace wasn't surprised to see baby dragons; he'd come across eggs only a few months ago. He was surprised to see that there were four of them, and three laid dead and still. The larger dragon mother, which towered over Ace multiple times his height, was laying dead, her eyes still open. It was so sad to look at._

_Ace looked down to see a shivering and whimpering baby dragon, shaking in fear and sadness as it cried and tried to shake awake his siblings and mother. Ace had tears in his eyes at the sad sight. Not far from there was a human body, the head missing._

_The baby dragon continued to cry, and didn't seem to notice Ace until he cautiously moved forward and slowly walked towards it. "They're gone," Ace said softly, putting a hand on the poor thing's head. It was the size of a fox, very small. So it must be very young by comparing the size of its parent. It growled at him and took up a stance in the protection of its dead family. Ace kneeled in front of it, making himself terribly vulnerable. The dragon had sharp teeth, but Ace wasn't afraid of it._

" _My family is gone, too," Ace said sadly, and that's what softened the baby dragon's expression. "Why don't we bury the babies?" Ace offered quietly. For some reason, he wanted to help this dragon. He was only eight, but took care of himself just fine._

_Since he couldn't dream of lifting the mother dragon and burying her, Ace just dug small holes for the three dead babies, and carried them gently to the holes, laying them down carefully and burying them while the lone dragon watched with tears in his eyes._

_Once the babies were gone from sight, the only dragon left looked uncertain and afraid of where and what to do now. "Why don't I become your new brother? I'll help you stay away from humans until you're big enough to fly away."_

_So, he made a truce with the dragon, and helped it until he could hunt small prey, like bunnies and foxes. Only, even after the dragon taught itself to fly, it never left. When Ace was ten, he tried to get the dragon to fly away, but Luffy refused to leave. The human didn't know if Luffy had had a name before, but Ace called him Luffy now._

_Even when Sabo joined them, Luffy was able to sense he was a good human. Sabo had joined their brotherhood and Ace had given Luffy a family. Even when Luffy was larger than both of them, and could hunt larger prey and fly the two humans from place to place, he was still his younger and precious brother._

_Ace had kept Luffy secret from humans while he grew older, and even after Luffy could no doubt take care of himself, Ace and Sabo still kept him secret from the human world. Luffy was precious and Ace and Sabo would return the favor of protecting him as best as they could._

Recalling Luffy's history, and knowing that Luffy remembered that day ten years ago, of course he would be uncomfortable in the enemy's nest. Maybe these pirates weren't the ones to kill Luffy's birth family, but they were humans and humans were the enemy to Luffy. He'd made two exceptions, but all humans besides his brothers were enemies that he needed to be on look out for.

While Sabo was talking to Luffy, the dragon stumbled down. It surprised the older teens, and Sabo rushed forward to catch him. The two felt bad now, Luffy had been standing for awhile now, and had needed a break but they didn't notice.

"Why don't we go back to the library and you can rest on the couch?" Ace offered. Luffy looked embarrassed and ashamed, his cheeks red in humiliation. He was so weak now. He missed his real body. He nodded and let Ace lift him onto his back.

"S'ry," Luffy grumbled, his voice still shaky and off, but it was the closest to a word that Ace and Sabo had heard him say since he was cursed. Ace and Sabo shared a sad glance, and Ace replied, "It's no big deal. How many times have you carried us on your back?"

Luffy frowned, but nodded. His brothers loved him, and would take care of him, but Luffy never had wanted to be a burden. Ace and Sabo ignored the humans around them as they walked back to the library. Luffy couldn't help but doze on Ace's back and stayed asleep when Ace laid him down on the comfoy couch.

There was a throw blanket over the back of the couch, and Ace laid the blanket down on him gently. He looked so helpless asleep, not wearing that hard look, daring someone to try something. It worried both older brothers, how vulnerable Lu was. Well, it didn't just worry them, it was _scary._ He was in no shape to protect himself. Ace and Sabo would need to be the strongest ones until they found a witch to reverse the damage done to the young dragon.

Luffy slept for much of the day, probably both physically and emotionally exhausted. They only woke him up when someone came looking for them, telling the two that dinner was starting. Sabo thanked the commander, the one who dressed like a woman, as he left the room, his gaze lingering on Luffy.

"Lu, dinner time," Ace said, waking the boy up. The first thought that came to Luffy's mind was a nice and tasty bear. Only then he remembered he'd be having human food, that that human cook would make. That soup had been disgusting, he didn't want more. He wanted to eat yummy, bloody and fatty meat. Ace and Sabo always let him have the fattier parts of the animals they'd eat. The thighs were Luffy's favorite part.

Luffy was rested enough to walk on his own, even though he was slow and a bit awkward, still having a hard time on two legs. And walking on all fours in human form was even more difficult. The galley was crowded with people when the three uncertainly entered, going up to the counter to see what was for dinner. Luffy scrunched up his nose in disgust of the smell of cooking meat.

"Hey, guys! We're having burgers tonight, how do you like your meat?" Luffy was drooling at the raw hunk of meat he saw on a large plate across the counter. He wanted to lunge at it and grab it before anyone else took it. He wanted it, it was his.

Thatch followed Luffy's gaze, and asked again, how he liked his meat. "Luffy wants as rare as you can," Sabo supplied. It made the others wonder how Sabo knew since Luffy hadn't said anything. Ace and Sabo both liked their meat so cooked it was charred in some places, enjoying the crunch of it.

"As cooked as you can, for both of us," Ace said.

"You mean well-done?" Thatch clarified. Sabo nodded. "Gotcha, shouldn't take too long for Luffy's. Here you can sit here and watch it cook," the chef said, and gestured to the empty bar seats in front of him.

Luffy glared at the delicious food that he was ruining by putting it on the grill, but when Sabo nudged the boy, Luffy changed his expression of one to impatience. He wasn't fully in control over different expressions, or how to hide them, so it was clear on his face what he was feeling when.

Ace took the bloody patty and handed the plate to Luffy. "Hey, what about the toppings and stuff?" Thatch asked, confused as to why Luffy was looking hungrily at only the meat. There were the toasted buns and veggies that he was completely ignoring. Luffy grabbed the meat with both hands and started eating it, the left over blood running down his chin. Those around him looked at his eating with disgust. But, Ace and Sabo said nothing as he was actually eating human food without a look of hate on his face. The juice from his steak dripped on Luffy's hands, but no one stopped him, and he looked at Ace once he was done. Ace turned to Thatch. "Luffy wants seconds."

Luffy heard some around him ask why he didn't say that himself, and the boy couldn't help but growl at the disrespectful tone the humans were taking. Thatch read the tension in front of him and turned to slightly cook seconds for Luffy. When it was done, before giving Luffy the plain steak, buns and veggies not even attempted to be included, Thatch cut it into bite sized chunks.

"Here you go, that should make it easier and less messy," the cook said with a smile. Ace and Sabo looked at Luffy in interest at how he'd react. A human had just shown genuine kindness that would not have benefitted himself. Luffy acknowledged it with a nod, and it was much easier to eat it in tiny chunks, especially with the small teeth he now had that made tearing into meat much harder.

Ace and Sabo smiled and ate their own burgers. Sabo had had them before, but Ace hadn't, and looked to Sabo's for instruction. Luffy was looking at the counter top, wondering why Thatch would have done that for his own benefit. Humans were always greedy and wanted more of what they couldn't have. So why did Thatch do that?

Sabo noticed Luffy's inner confusion and the stumped look on his face. He whispered in his ear, "Some humans are good people." Luffy nodded, and his eyes flicked back to Thatch as he busied himself with other peoples' meals. Luffy tried to move past it, and drank some water from the glass in front of him. When he fumbled with wrapping his fingers around it, Thatch pulled out a plastic straw and dropped it into the cup.

Luffy looked startled, not knowing what the new thing was, thinking that Thatch had put it in there to harm him, erasing his kindness, but he was wrong. "You won't have to hold the glass if you drink through the straw."

Ace smiled into his food when Luffy looked shocked again, not used to human kindness. Even before, when the nurses were trying to fix up their sunburns, they had been irritable with Luffy's insistence they not touch him.

The meal continued, Luffy truly not understanding why a human had been kind to him for no reason. It went against everything he knew and thought of humans. Was Thatch a good human? All the others on the crew looked at Luffy in digust or irritation - stupid humans - but Thatch was kind to him for no personal gain.

Eventually, it became too confusing, and Luffy left the room, his brothers following closely. They both took one of his hands, which he gripped tighter. They headed to the library, as they didn't know where they'd be sleeping. When Luffy settled back into the couch, Ace and Sabo sat on the floor across from him.

"Some humans can be kind just for the sake of being kind. There are the few oddballs out there, like me and Sabo," Ace explained patiently. Luffy nodded, but then curled himself into a ball. He was feeling confused, and didn't like being around confusing humans. Thatch had been disrespectful earlier, so why was he nice now?

Sabo stood up and sat next to Luffy, putting his arm around the twelve year old's shoulders. "I know it's confusing to come across unknowns, or lapses in something we think we know is permanent. Maybe he was just being nice for now, but it was still an act of kindness. Just give it to him and move on. There's no need to dwell on it if it upsets you."

"Hm'ns b'd," Luffy gargled, trying to say, "Humans bad."

"Not all of us," Ace replied. "I think Sabo and I are good guys. At least for you." He then changed the subject, making Luffy thankful. He didn't like being confused, so appreciated the distraction. "Why don't we try and work on the hand movements?" he suggested.

Sabo picked up a pencil off the desk and gave to Luffy to practice holding in a pincer grip. It was difficult for Luffy, due to that stupid, useless pinky finger and abnormally big thumb. He was okay at gripping with all his fingers, but was still having trouble fully utilizing all of his fingers.

By the time the three were all getting sleepy, they weren't sure where to go. Or if they would be given a place to sleep at all. They weren't exactly guests on the ship, just refugees. When Luffy finally fell asleep, Sabo picked him up and carried him while he and Ace searched for someone to tell them where to go.

Neither of the older brother voiced it, for Luffy might get upset, but it was nice being able to hold and cuddle him when he was usually stiff and much bigger. They found Namur eventually, and the fishman said, "We've been looking for you to show you where you'll be staying." He was smart enough to keep his voice low so as not to wake the sleeping kid. When Luffy was asleep he looked much more approachable, so the brothers could tell the contrast was showing to the fishman.

He lead them to a part of the ship that had bedrooms. There was a guest one that had two beds in it, and everything inside was dusty, meaning no one had stayed in there for a long while. "There's only two beds, so someone will have to share," Namur said, but it was unnecessary as Sabo set Luffy down on one of the beds and both teens curled up under the covers with him.

It might seem weird to him, but sleeping close to Luffy had always been best for the dragon. Ever since Ace started caring for Luffy, he'd needed to be touching someone else to sleep. Dragons cuddled with each other a lot, so Ace and Sabo took over the role of cuddling from Luffy's lost family. Even if it wasn't the most comfortable for them, they loved Luffy and wanted him to know that.

Both of them missed his playfulness. Things had changed a lot once he was cursed to be a human. He'd lost his happiness, and they hoped they'd get it back once they find another witch to fix him.

Namur left the room, closing the door gently behind him. All of the brothers were asleep the second they hit the mattress, not used to being on something so comfortable.


	4. Getting Closer to the Answers

**Nekokratik: Luffy is able to eat the raw fish, but not the steak. Thatch makes the steak for him, though it's very rare done. Ace and Sabo are worrywarts. Luffy will be fine don't worry! And Marco is smart, so he's on to them. And yeah, I feel bad for Luffy, too. No treasure for him. :( Poor baby.**

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**Happy holidays, everyone! I hope your Christmas Eve goes well and you have a fun time. Enjoy my story once you can!~**

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Marco was in his room, sitting at his desk with the lights dimmed as he stared at the piece of paper in front of him. He was going to start making notes of Luffy's strange behavior, as he had become so bothered by the curiosity that it was making him irritable, so maybe he could come to a conclusion when he had all the evidence (of what, he didn't know) written down in one place.

_Eats raw meat and fish_

_Seems to be unable to use fingers correctly_

_Growls and snarls at everybody_

_Walks awkwardly_

_Cannot/will not speak_

_Extremely hostile_

Those were everything he could think of at the moment. None of it lead to anything concrete, and just left him more irritable with not having any way to piece them together into a solution to the problem.

After half an hour of staring at the paper and tapping the pen down impatiently, he sighed and went to bed. Though he had trouble sleeping, going through everything strange about Luffy, but also what was remarkably normal. He still couldn't tell what was dangerous about the kid and it made him very upset.

He eventually did fall asleep, though he went to bed irritable at no one but himself for being unable to solve the mystery that was Luffy. The conundrum of a child.

-x-

When the three had woken up, new clothes were outside of their room. Someone had made an outfit for Luffy. He would rather walk around without clothes, but it was both cold and improper to walk around naked in a stranger's place. He didn't have any shoes still, but was given socks to keep his feet warm. Sabo and Ace both had shoes, boots, and Luffy was glad he didn't have any. They would probably make walking even slower.

When they went to breakfast, Luffy had decided he didn't like that he didn't know why Thatch was nice to him, so instead turned even more hostile. He glared at the chef intensely if he got too close. He thought Thatch _had_ to have had an ulterior motive for being nice to him the day before.

Thatch seemed upset by the sudden hostility, but looked even more upset when Luffy looked like he was going to gag while eating the eggs and bacon served to him. Luffy looked absolutely appalled with the food, but it was mostly the texture he hated about both. Especially the eggs. Meat wasn't supposed to be thin and brittle, but fatty and juicy with blood. He'd much rather eat a raw pig than bacon.

Thatch glowered at him from across the room, and Ace could hear him ranting to his brother about his cooking not being that bad. Sabo snickered when Thatch loudly asked if anyone else had a problem with his food. It seemed Luffy hit a sore spot with the food. Sabo nudged Luffy's shoulder.

"Try not to look so disgusted, Lu," the blonde said, gesturing to the angry Thatch, who was pouting at Luffy's expressions while eating his food. Luffy couldn't stop the gross expressions, even if he tried. Even if he had human taste buds now, and couldn't eat raw meat without risking illness, he still longed for bloody meat.

Now that he was human, he had to get hydrated through drinking water instead of from the blood he consumed of other animals. Remembering to drink water when not parched was hard, but Ace and Sabo made sure he drank water when they did.

When Luffy finally finished his food, he pushed the empty plate away. That was it for Thatch, and he stomped over and demanded what was wrong with his food. "I am a good cook, so why do you act like you're eating dog shit?" he demanded. Luffy growled at him, but Sabo put his hand on Lu's head comfortingly.

"Luffy is just picky," Sabo tried to diffuse the situation, which Luffy wasn't helping by glaring at Thatch. How dare a human talk to him in such a disrespectful way?

"Picky how? What does he like to eat? I'll make him something he likes, just tell me what it is!" Thatch begged obnoxiously loud. Ace chuckled into his drink as Sabo scrambled for an answer. He finally settled on, "He likes raw meat sometimes."

"Like sushi? Raw fish?" Thatch asked in a hyper voice, hurrying into the kitchen and pulling out raw fish. Luffy immediately started drooling, and Thatch looked scandalized. "He likes raw fish more than homemade bacon?!"

Luffy really wasn't appreciating the disrespect, as Luffy _had_ eaten his food and didn't spit it out when he didn't like it. Wasn't that enough for him? Ace and Sabo just chuckled. Thatch then made all sorts of different types of sushi with different types of fish. Some of the pirates, including the captain, watched the angry chef mutter to himself as he made sushi in entertainment.

Sabo had a feeling that no one thought Thatch's food was gross, so having someone look disgusted with it had thrown the man off, which was why he was trying hard to make something appealing to the "picky" eater. Luffy was impatient watching him be fancy with the fish and taking away the best part.

To him, the best part of a fish was the head because it was the crunchiest part. Thatch was taking all the yummy crunchy parts out, and just leaving the slimy part. Everytime he took a bone out of the fish or chopped its head off, Luffy would frown. It just confused Thatch more, who constantly looked up from what he was doing to see Luffy's reaction, even though every time he looked he got angrier.

Finally, a huge array of sushi was set out in front of Luffy. He didn't hesitate in eating each one quickly, which _should_ have made Thatch happy, but Luffy wasn't making any show that any of them tasted different than the others. It was just the worst parts of the fish to him, but better than any cooked food he was made so far.

"Do any of them taste different to you? The different types of fish?" Luffy shook his head. Raw fish was raw fish. What was he supposed to taste? "Well, did you like any of the sushi?" Luffy did what he'd seen his brothers do before and slowly shrugged.

"Ahhh!" Thatch shouted as he fisted his hands in his hair, messing it up. "What didn't you like about it?" he demanded, needing to know why Luffy wasn't one hundred percent happy with his food. Luffy gestured to the fish bones and fish heads on the cutting board. "You can't eat fish bones," the cook said.

Luffy narrowed his eyes, not liking being told what he can or can't do. It was fine when Ace or Sabo did it, though it was annoying, because Luffy deemed them worthy of being able to tell him what to do.

"Luffy likes the crunchiness of fish bones," Sabo said, though he sounded disgusted as well. It was completely normal when Luffy was his dragon self, but when Luffy had eaten raw fish in human form, it was disgusting.

Thatch also looked disgusted. Luffy bristled at the attitude. There was nothing wrong with liking raw fish, why did humans have to set everything on fire to eat it? He wished he could ask this, but couldn't formulate any of the words and didn't want to look like an idiot in front of these stupid humans who were watching the interaction with entertained smiles.

"Do you _only_ like raw fish and meat?" Thatch demanded, cleaning up the area like a busybody, unable to keep still. Luffy shrugged again. He'd never had anything else that he liked. Sometimes his stomach could handle fruits, but that was always a treat. The sweetness of certain fruits was too much for him to have too often. So, he mostly stuck to meat, as dragons were carnivores. Why else would they have sharp teeth and destructive jaw strength?

"He's eaten some fruit, but meat and fish mostly," Sabo explained.

Thatch looked truly disturbed. "You mean you only feed your little brother raw meat and fish?" Ace and Sabo bristled at the tone, like they were bad brothers for letting Luffy eat what he wanted. Besides, Luffy had made it a point to show he hadn't gotten sick from eating raw meat and fish after constantly sneaking it into his diet even before their island caught fire and they needed to flee.

They still tried to get him to stop, but weren't able to punish him about it without feeling guilt. They just wanted him to learn by himself that eating raw meat now wasn't good for his human body. But, he thought all cooked meat and fish were repulsive. Even the smell of it when they were cooking the meat at a campfire, he turned his nose away from the smell.

"Luffy sneaks in fish and meat sometimes, but we try to make him stop," Sabo said in a clipped voice, clearly showing the conversation on this was over. Thatch got the hint, but pouted. He would try and make something other than raw fish that Luffy liked. If he only ate raw foods, then he was incredibly picky about anything but uncooked meat.

Thatch looked to the kid, who looked disgruntled at people talking about him like he wasn't there. He wished he could counter them, but didn't want to give them ammo to call him stupid by trying to speak. And, even though it would be helpful, he wasn't really excited to learn to speak. It was against what he did as a dragon, and if he tried to be human more than necessary, he'd be a disgrace to his kind.

"You should really be careful about eating raw meat or fish," Thatch said in concern. Luffy glowered at the man. "I'll make you safe to eat raw fish, and rare done meat, but you can't eat it raw." Luffy pouted, enjoying the bloodiness of the fish he ate whole or their heads and the crunchy bone parts.

"Thank you," Sabo said politely, since Luffy couldn't. The former dragon was nice and full from the plethora of fish he'd gotten, even if most of them were small. But it was the closest thing he knew he'd be getting here as he was now.

When Izo suddenly sat next to Luffy without warning, he growled at him threateningly. But Izo didn't even blink, just raising an eyebrow at the kid. He spoke as if Luffy hadny growled at him. "We need to fit your guys' clothes to make new ones. Especially Luffy, since these clothes don't fit him at all."

Sabo and Ace were especially surprised about being given clothes. They only had one outfit, but it was clean now, so what was the point of them getting more? But Luffy did need clothes that fit him. The baggy clothing was making it a bit harder for him to move around fluidly.

"Alright, we're done with breakfast, so we can do it now," Sabo said. Luffy looked uncomfortable with a human being so close to him when he heard "measurements". He'd never been fitted for clothes, but surely the human would be touching Luffy. He didn't like that.

He didn't like it so much that he pushed Izo's hands away when he tried measuring Luffy's skinny chest. Izo sighed, frustrated, and handed the supplies to Sabo to measure the kid instead of making it a big deal and scolding him.

Luffy was okay with Sabo doing it, and the rest of the task went by easily. Ace wasn't the most comfortable with a stranger being so close either, but he didn't growl. Just had his jaw clenched. "There, I'm done," Izo said after a half hour of measuring. "Your new clothes will be ready by tomorrow. You may go."

The three walked out of the room and onto the deck, not knowing where to go to entertain themselves. Lots of people were on deck, so they couldn't practice moving with Luffy without looking strange and bringing attention to themselves. They ended up visiting the back deck and talking about where they would look for the next witch, whether they should stay with these humans longer and look on islands they docked at.

When people started screaming as the boat rocked, the three brothers grew uneasy and worried. They were going to run inside, not wanting to deal with a sea king or storm, until they heard, "Why is a dragon here?!" Luffy froze at the words and whipped his head around, running to the railing to see something swimming below them.

Luffy had never seen another dragon before, besides his late family. It was much bigger than Luffy had been, and was a dark teal color. Very pretty. Unlike Luffy had, the boy couldn't see any sort of horns out of it. The dragon looked up at where Luffy was, and surfaced, lifting its long neck until Luffy was face to face with the beautiful beast.

By now, most of the crew had heard the screams and were out on deck. Ace and Sabo stayed far away when Luffy didn't move away, and some of the crew were yelling at them to get Luffy away from it. But Ace and Sabo weren't worried. Dragons simply didn't like the taste of humans.

It lowered its head down to Luffy, who slowly reached his arm upwards, having difficulty, and cupped the dragon's large and smooth face.

Dragons never fought with other dragons, as it was taboo. Luffy wasn't worried about being attacked. This dragon knew what he really was, and was why it had approached him. Luffy pet its cheek for awhile, giving it a longing look. After a few minutes, the dragon sank back into the water with a splash and Luffy looked down to see its shadow gliding away into the water before disappearing from sight.

The boy rubbed the tears in his eyes away before anyone saw them, and walked back to Ace and Sabo, wanting physical attention. They both knew this and gave him a big hug. The rest of the crew looked shocked and incredulous.

"Dragons don't eat or kill humans. He was just curious," Ace explained, always annoyed when people assumed dragons were man-eaters. None of them saw Marco's shocked face, and just had their moment of comfort while Luffy grieved his old body. Seeing another dragon just showed what he used to be. How strong and magnificent. Now he was a scrawny and helpless human child. _Stupid._

The three eventually left the deck for some privacy and headed to the library, where Sabo searched for some fiction novels he could read to Luffy to distract him. They didn't head out of the library until lunch, when their stomachs were grumbling. Luffy was made sushi and rare steak.

However, even when Thatch was nice to him, Luffy defealuted to his on guard self, glaring at Thatch if he got too close. But the man just looked happy Luffy was eating his food, even if it was nothing special or unique. At least the kid was eating without the disgusted expression on.

-x-

Marco finally figured out why he felt so off with Luffy. He'd never recognized the feeling he got from the kid, but when the dragon surfaced, it was like it was a duplicate of Luffy, only slightly different. Luffy's presence was that of a dragon, and the phoenix senses reacted similar to Luffy that it did to this dragon. And Luffy wasn't afraid at all and instead _touched_ the beast. And it did nothing hostile, like most dragons were around humans, and especially when they approached them.

Marco had never once seen a dragon, even though they were around the world and filled the seas, ruling the water along with sea kings. Though, dragons didn't attack ships or humans, only sea kings did that. Yet, still, everyone was afraid of the apex predators. Their size and teeth were what really put people off.

But Luffy was clearly a human, and there had been no known hybrids that looked like humans. Surely, if there were, then it would be known by now, after dragons supposedly having been around since the age of the dinosaurs.

Though, if Luffy were somehow part dragon, it explained his hostility towards stranger humans. Especially the ones that touched him or got too close. It also explained the strange spoon incident. They hoarded shiny things, and the spoon had been shiny silver.

But why couldn't he speak if he really was part human/part dragon? Or why he couldn't function normally. Marco was positive Luffy was somehow related to dragons, but to what extent, he didn't know. He wouldn't say anything to anyone, even if he was positive now. Not even his father, because Marco hated not bringing concrete evidence before telling the man something important. Plus, if Luffy really did have some resemblance to dragons, he could be in danger of greedy humans.

Marco loved his brothers, but not all of them were conventionally good people. Many were pirates by nature. Still, they were Marco's brothers and he loved them.

The ship was buzzing with talk and confusion about Luffy and the dragon's interaction. Though many were reeling from the sight of the creature. Most humans didn't come into contact with dragons directly. They might find empty shells in the forest or on a beach, or find footsteps in the mud, but dragons were good at staying hidden.

It was even more rare to see one that lived in the sea, as they didn't need to surface to breathe and they never wanted anything to do with ships or humans. So, seeing one for the first time had been scary and overwhelming, but also amazing. The creature had been so beautiful, and hadn't spared a glance to any of the humans other than the strange child.

Come to think of it… dragons were very affectionate with each other. They slept in the same nest or cave, curled up together like cats. Marco's thoughts went back to when he saw Luffy rubbing his face against Sabo, or when Namur said the three slept together in the same bed, which he thought was strange.

More and more reasons to think his suspicion was correct were appearing, and Marco hurried to his office to write down his new thoughts and signs that he could be correct. By the time he'd been done writing, he had a substantial sized list.

He was even more painfully curious about it now that he was sure he had a crucial clue. He would watch Luffy more, and headed to the library to search for any books about dragons. Maybe books that would talk about humans turned into dragons or vice versa, though he couldn't see how that could happen in the first place, so hopefully he'd get a clue from any books.

When he entered the library, he found the three brothers sitting on the couch while Sabo read fiction stories about sailors to the child, who was looking exhausted and sad despite the distraction. Marco didn't interrupt them and minded his business and walked up the stairs to the second story and headed to the area with the books about animals, birds, sea life and dragons.

They had a thick and old book about dragons, and he put it in his shirt so Sabo couldn't see the book, and left the library without a word to them. No one was supposed to bring books out of the library due to many times losing or damaging the important ones, but Marco thought of himself as an exception.

He took the book to his room, as he didn't have anything to do and had some free time. He sat on his bed and opened the book. He read most of the chapters about their behavior, and he was right to compare Luffy's to a dragon's. However, there was nothing in the book about humans and dragons being linked in any way.

Marco knew better than to ask any of the brothers about it, for he didn't want to send them away for good from him, and he would no doubt be denied any information he requested. Maybe, if he listened close enough, he'd get some hint. He hoped he'd get some confirmation for his hypothesis, but it would be no time soon.

They had at least a week, probably more due to the captain not wanting to leave the kids on an uninhabited island alone. With no way to travel to another island safely. Though, if Luffy really was part dragon, then being in a city wouldn't be comfortable.

Maybe something had happened to him and that's why he seemed to despise everyone on the ship. Maybe it wasn't just that they were strangers, but _humans._ Though dragons didn't attack humans, they didn't exactly get along with them. Humans hunted them, so of course any dragon would be wary of them at first.

Though, he really wondered the brothers' pasts together and how they had befriended a dragon- _if_ Marco was right, and he felt he was. God, the curiosity was more painful than it had ever been before. He felt almost itchy with how much he wished he knew more about Luffy.

-x-

Luffy was really sad for most of the rest of the day after the contact with the other dragon. He hadn't been able to speak to it in human form. He didn't get to talk with the only other live dragon he'd met. He was just a human, and humiliated for being in this body in the presence of one of his own kind.

At least the dragon hadn't attacked him, and seemed to be able to tell Luffy was different. The boy couldn't care less if these humans thought it was strange that he had had a friendly interaction with a dragon. He was happy deep down that he had been able to see another one. Now that their island was gone, when Luffy changed back -and he _would-_ then maybe the next island the three lived on would have other dragons he could interact with. He loved his brothers, but he couldn't speak to them clearly, though they recognized most of what he wished by his actions and dragon expressions.

Ace and Sabo had been assuring Luffy that witches weren't that rare and they would find one to turn him back. Luffy held onto his brothers words when he was feeling hopeless. Especially when he was having trouble functioning properly. Ace and Sabo never lied to him, so he trusted their determined words.

Luffy could see people looking at him in confusion, and could see why, even if it was very annoying to have people staring at him. He couldn't help the growling, and ignored the others' words about it. He'd growl at them to stop staring at his pathetic body, probably thinking he was weak and weird.

Sabo gripped his hand tighter and the boy's growls quieted to more of an angry and quiet whine at the humans. The three wandered around for awhile before taking a break out on deck. There were many people out, so the three didn't talk about anything that was important to their unique situation.

The three assumed that the humans thought that maybe another dragon may show up, but none did and by the time it was dark out, most had gone inside and missed the next strange occurrence. They were sitting by the railing, looking out on the dark waters when a few small glowing things were floating towards them.

Ace and Sabo got in a protective stance in front of Luffy, who was tired and sitting down. But, the glowing things passed right past Ace and Sabo, fearlessly, like they were ignoring them, and they landed in front of Luffy. Ace and Sabo whipped around to defend their helpless brother, but saw that the glowing things were seagull sized dragons whose scales emitted light.

They approached Luffy and one landed on his knee. All three of them were surprised to see airborne dragons out at sea, and that these weren't talked about. Did they follow the scent or feel of Luffy for this long, from one island to another, or were they just passing by coincidence.

They let out trills, but Luffy had no idea what they were trying to communicate, and it bothered him. Luffy ran his human hand down one of the dragons' head and back. He really wished their old island had had more dragons, but with the many families that were hunted over time, maybe the dragons knew that island was a bad idea, and had purposely not landed there.

It seemed that once the creatures realized that Luffy couldn't reply, they took to the air again and then flew away until the glow was gone. Luffy had tears in his eyes and stood up to walk back to their room and just go to bed, not hungry one bit. Ace and Sabo followed, looking sadly at each other, and knowing how Luffy must be feeling about the dragon visits. They were hungry, so Ace told Sabo to go get some dinner and bring it back.

Sabo was more than willing to do so, though they wouldn't get any seconds. But, no seconds for a night would be okay. They would have breakfast in a few hours. Luffy didn't growl at anyone he walked by, looking down at the floor. Seeing dragons was nice, but he was thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed to be in the enemy's skin.

He collapsed on the bed and crawled under the covers, Ace laying down next to him while they waited for the food. The other older brother came with two trays with human food and a tray of three steaks for Luffy. At the smell of the food, he grew nauseous as he could smell the human food, which was a pasta dish of some sort that Sabo recognized but had to explain to Ace.

It was really helpful having _one_ of them know how the human world works outside of their jungle life. Luffy ate the meat after Sabo cut it up in pieces for him, which the other two enjoyed the human food cooked for them. Luffy wiped his bloody hands on his shorts, not used to using clothing so he didn't think about wiping blood on them.

When the three went to bed, Luffy had trouble sleeping until Ace pulled him closer and rested his chin on Luffy's head. Usually it was Luffy that put his jaw on their heads since he was used to being bigger than them. It was another weird thing about this situation. But, he fell asleep in the position, warm even with in his sensitive human skin.

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**Marco is on to them!**


	5. Found Out!

**Mudkip246: Thank you! You will enjoy this chapter. :)**

**Kurosaki Shiro: If Marco could heal him, how would it be a quest? I think Izo is usually sassy, especially in other fics. And honestly, I get more thoughts about how the Whitebeards act by reading so many other fanfics. Since not all the commanders get a lot of attention in the Marineford arc. We fanfic writers gotta infer to our best abilties!**

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**Happy New Years everyone! I hope you are doing well. I broke up with my "best friend" yesterday and it's been a really bad experience. I'm pretty depressed and not very successful for now with writing, but you don't need to worry about me not updating, as all of my stories are finished. Enjoy~**

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Marco woke earlier than most, only later in the day since the cooks woke up at dawn to get food ready. Breakfast was almost never ready by the time Marco woke, and he'd go on a walk around the ship, both just for the calmness of no one being awake and also making sure there was nothing off or wrong on the ship.

He closed his door quietly, as the walls were thin and he shared the hall with his fellow commanders and captain. The closest he got to the exit out to the deck, the more uneasy he felt. There was something outside on the deck, and Marco got ready to fight. But, then he noticed there were many more. At least fifteen.

Marco slowly opened the door to see what he thought he would. Different sized dragons were lounging around the deck. When he came into their sight, Marco moved very slowly and closed the door quietly. He waited to feel any of the dragons move towards the door or leave. None did, but none of them left even after seeing a human.

Though, they could no doubt smell, hear or sense all of the humans, yet came for something anyway. Marco didn't want to give away what he thought about Luffy, but he couldn't see any other reason multiple dragons would flock to their ship now, when this had never happened before. Marco hurriedly walked back the way he came and to Pops's room. It was still early, but he needed to alert the man of the problem.

He also kept his advanced observation haki as honed as he could to sense if any of the dragons found their way inside, and knocked on the captain's door loudly. He waited a moment before Whitebeard walked out, looking tense. He had better haki than Marco, so he had to notice there were intruders on the ship.

"We have a strange situation," Marco explained. "There are at least fifteen different dragons on our deck." Whitebeard's eyes widened and he walked quickly to the door to the deck, and just as slowly as Marco had, opened the door. Some of them were larger even than Whitebeard, standing on the open part of the deck, while smaller or medium sized dragons were perched on the railing or yardarms. They could see there was one lounging in the crowsnest with its tail hanging over the side.

Whitebeard didn't approach any of the unexpected visitors, not wanting to set any of them off or feel hostile. But, even in the presence of a large and dangerous human, none of them left or fled. He wouldn't try to get them away and risk upsetting them and either being killed or their ship easily destroyed by the larger ones. Neither of them were sure about what to do, but it would be dangerous to have anyone go out on deck. Until the dragons left, no one would be going outside.

Marco went to his office and wrote on a large piece of paper, "Do not go outside." And he taped it to the door that lead to the deck. Whitebeard had already locked the handle of the door, which he rarely did. The two went to the galley, making sure to focus on the dragons and what they were doing or when they left.

Thatch hadn't felt any of the presences, and Marco sat at the bar while he cooked. "Thatch, put the knife and pan down," he said suddenly, not wanting Thatch to freak out and injure or burn himself. The cook looked confused, but put them down. Something was wrong. "There are fifteen dragons on our ship right now. Don't let anyone go outside if they say anything."

"...What?" Thatch asked dumbly. Marco repeated what he'd said and Thatch's face went pale.

"I don't think they are here to attack us. Both me and Pops went outside and none of them grew hostile. I think as long as no one approaches them, they will leave. I hope," Marco explained, trying to calm Thatch. "We locked the door, and most of them are too big to come inside."

That, however, did not make Thatch feel better, but worse. There were huge ones! They could destroy the ship if they wanted! Break off the mast or light the ship on fire! He turned back to his cooking to try and calm himself. After Marco ate some food, he went back to the entrance to guard it for when anyone wanted to go outside after waking up.

-x-

Luffy woke up first to his stomach rumbling and his throat dry. He looked out of the porthole and saw it was daytime now by the light coming through the water. He didn't want to leave the room by himself, but was uncomfortable with being hungry.

He shook Ace and Sabo awake, and his stomach rumbling gave them enough information to know Luffy wanted breakfast. The three put their clothes back on, besides Luffy who had slept with all of the clothes on, where his brothers were only in their bottoms. When the three entered the galley, it was unusually quiet, with everyone on edge and whispering like they didn't want to make too much noise.

The trio went to the bar counter and sat down, Thatch's hands were shaking. "What's wrong with everybody?" Ace asked suspiciously. Thatch served Luffy seasoned sushi, with natural flavorings that you could find it in the forest; he wanted Luffy to eat flavored foods, not just raw fish and uncooked steak.

"We're all afraid to make too much noise. There are tons of dragons outside on the deck. We have no idea why, this has never happened before. And we don't know how many are in the water, swimming right next to us."

Luffy's eyes widened, and knew that the other dragons must have passed on their interaction with the strange dragon-boy. He didn't want to embarrass himself more in front of his own kind, and really didn't want to see any of them, but knew they wouldn't leave without getting what they came for. Most likely, to see Luffy.

The previous dragons hadn't attacked him, but just seemed curious. So these ones probably meant no harm. Though he didn't want to see them, Luffy also yearned to see them. He had mixed feelings about their presences. He ate his fish slowly, trying not to think about it, until someone screamed when they noticed a huge, green eye looking through the porthole. It made direct eye contact with Luffy, and then it moved.

When little dragon faces looked through the porthole, Luffy abruptly walked out of the room, leaving his brothers. The moment he left the room, and the view of the small water dragons, the ship tilted a bit from something leaning into it. Luffy stumbled against the wall when the ship tipped, and he hissed. He waited for the hallway to right again before walking.

Ace and Sabo came running after him, looking concerned and uneasy about what to do. They knew personally how impatient dragons could get when they were denied what they wanted, and had a feeling the ship would be tilted more the longer Luffy stayed inside. But they'd also be given away if none of the dragons were bothered by Luffy alone. "What do you wanna do, Lu?" Ace asked. Luffy balled his hands into fists, and when there was another nudged against the ship, with people shouting an alarm as they crashed against the walls, he gave a curt nod. The three headed towards the exit and entrance into and out of the ship.

When the arrived, they saw Marco sitting on a wooden chair against the large door, a large piece of paper Sabo could read saying not to go outside on the wood. Marco had a book in his hand with his legs crossed. Marco looked up at them for a moment, and shared a look with Luffy, who kept his face as blank as possible even when he was annoyed with the human looking at him like that.

Then, the man stood up and looked at Luffy, moving the chair out of the way and unlocking the door. The three were all surprised by the move, but Luffy was grateful he wasn't confining him, or Luffy wouldn't stand for that. He wasn't a caged dragon, and never would let a human confine him in any way. Not that he could really do anything but growl now.

Ace and Sabo were kept inside, to their unease. Marco wouldn't let them go out, even though he desperately wanted to know what was going on outside, the dragons' response to the child. Marco didn't ask any questions of the brothers he was standing with, just let them all keep their senses open in the silence.

Nobody had seen Marco let Luffy outside, or they would get upset and suspicious. So, thankfully, it had only been the brothers and Marco.

When Luffy stepped out, none of the dragons looked at him in hostility, even if he was a small and young human. Weak looking and with no weapons of any kind. The little dragons went first, and crowded around Luffy's legs. Small ones the size of small birds landed on his shoulders and head.

He reached down and ran his hand on their head and necks, knowing it felt good for him in dragon form. The bigger ones, walked over and sniffed him. After smelling him, they looked at him with sympathetic eyes. Tears fell from Luffy's black eyes, and he looked down when the first dragon rubbed his head against Luffy's arm. More of them became physically affectionate with him, with one of the largest gently resting his head on Luffy's head. The boy started to sniffle before sobbing. All of the stress and discomfort and humiliation hit at once by creatures that could sympathize with him.

Ace and Sabo were good, and had a feeling about how Luffy felt, but they weren't dragons, as much as Luffy wished they were sometimes. They didn't know the shame Luffy felt in being his kind's biggest enemy's form. When he let out shuddering sobs, one of the medium sized dragons wrapped an arm around Luffy's chest and back.

Humans mostly thought dragons were monsters and violent beasts, but they were all wrong. Dragons were kind and sympathetic, especially towards each other. Not like humans, that attack each other for fun. Luffy had taken issue with Ace and Sabo sparring at first, but they had explained they were helping each other become stronger.

The dragons spent a while comforting him before the tears subsided and he grew silent again. He wanted to tell them what was wrong with him, since he was unable to communicate with him like this. "Witch," he said, surprisingly clearly. The dragons' eyes seemed to brighten as it made sense of why their fellow was in human skin. They now had the answer.

Some ruffled up in aggravation. Witches had long since been loathed by dragons for being exceptionally good at killing them and dragons felt humans shouldn't be gifted powers, more so than devil fruits. Humans already had all kinds of weapons, long distance and close combat, they didn't deserve even more power.

A few of the dragons clearly communicated, though the human couldn't hear, and flew off in different directions. Luffy saw the water ripple around the ship as the water dragons dispersed and swam deeper into their habitat, away from the surface they rarely visited.

After the dragons were all gone from sight, Ace and Sabo hurried out to see Luffy with puffy eyes, wet cheeks and a runny nose. They gave him sad looks and walked up to them to hug him closely. He hugged them back, but it was different hugging them than the dragons. Luffy loved his brothers, but he would never share their feelings like he would a real sibling.

Ace and Sabo's relationship with Luffy had been much more different than with his fellow dragon babies that had been killed. The main point was that Luffy couldn't speak with Ace and Sabo. They also didn't understand his natural urges. To be dominant in the group but being refused that position. To have anything he wanted or craved. His natural dislike for humans that only grew as he aged.

He didn't not love Ace and Sabo, he _adored_ them, but it would never be the same. He hoped that once he was in dragon form again, he could meet some more and finally be able to share conversation with someone or something.

Marco walked out, seeing the brothers hugging and Luffy completely unharmed. The dragons had flown off in all different directions, so no one knew where they had come from. If there was an island nearby.

-x-

Marco waited with the teens while whatever happened next happened. The brothers were nervous and had their ears pressed against the door, while Marco honed at all his senses, transforming one hand to activate his phoenix senses. Neither brother noticed his hand light up, as they were too focused on what was happening outside.

Marco frowned deeply when he heard Luffy start crying, and felt the movement of the dragons to get closer to him. At first, he thought that they had attacked, but there was no scream, and he activated his observation haki to the fullest and could feel all of the presence outside, and the dragons were embracing Luffy as he cried.

After awhile of the dragons comforting the kid, Marco heard him speak for the first time. " _Witch."_ Marco's eyes flew open, and things all suddenly made sense. It was the only way he could now see anything like this could happen.

It was clear to him now that Luffy was _not_ in fact human. Just stuck being one from a witch. He felt pride that he was right about the general belief that Luffy had some sort of personal connection with dragons. But, he also knew he needed to keep this a secret. With some of his brothers being greedy pirates, and not everyone was an inherently selfless and good person, it would be dangerous for Luffy if it became known he was actually a dragon, but couldn't defend himself one bit. He might be taken advantage of, or his own brothers could be attacked by the kid or his older brothers, who were clearly not biologically related.

Now that Marco had seen many dragons, he couldn't say that seeing Luffy in normal form would be his first dragon. Though, Marco couldn't help but scoff about people who say that dragons are senseless beasts, when those, both big and small, dragons that were outside showed such empathy to one of their own, even if he looked like a human.

Marco suddenly felt bad for scolding Luffy on his hostility. He was a _dragon_ , and it was lucky he hadn't lashed out at anyone, even if he was small and weak like this. It was in his nature to be wary of humans, and not want them close to him, and here he was, surrounded by humans he didn't know on a confined space.

And he also could see that the dragon must be incredibly stressed just by being in human form when he usually wasn't. If Marco suddenly got stuck in dragon form, it would distress him. The unfamiliarity of your own body would be taxing on the mind and would make him feel even more uncomfortable in the situation.

Marco would have to tell Pops, because Marco now had a mission he wanted to pursue. He wanted to find a witch to turn Luffy back to normal. No wonder he hated Thatch's food and liked raw meat more. It would make Thatch feel better if he knew why his food was despised by the boy, but Thatch was notorious for spoiling things he was excited about.

The zoan had a feeling that in less than 24 hours, everyone on the ship would know about Luffy's real identity. But the question was, would Marco tell the brothers that he knew? As he was thinking about it, the dragons had left.

"They're gone, you can go out now," he told the teens, who hurried outside, and Marco kept the door open as he watched the two older teens wrap Luffy in a hug. Marco wondered how big Luffy really was, or what he looked like. Marco would be more understanding with his reaction to the kid. And he'd do a lot more reading of that dragon encyclopedia. He stood in the doorway for awhile, while the three embraced, but eventually turned around to go and alert the others that the dragons had suddenly left. No one needed to know what had happened for real. Though Marco wondered if more dragons would be visiting them while Luffy was aboard the ship.

They had never had a single dragon attack on their ship, or any that were just visiting, but if they were drawn to Luffy's presence, or those that had already visited had told other dragons about the dragon-human, then more might come. Well, Marco wouldn't let the brothers leave until they found a witch willing to change him back.

It was Marco's new task he _needed_ to do. And he had to tell Pops to get his okay on the matter. Marco was sure he would get it, and would be interested in it himself. Whitebeard always enjoyed seeing and learning new things after being so old and on the sea so long.

Marco went straight to his presence, walking down one of the halls leading away from the infirmary where Pops was having his regular check up, which he was annoyed was weekly now. Marco looked very serious, and said, "We need to talk in private. The dragons are all gone now; they left not long ago. So it's safe to go outside."

"Is it something serious we need to talk about?" Pops asked, longing to go get breakfast.

"Very," Marco replied. Whitebeard nodded and his face was hard as the two men walked to the meeting room, which had incredibly thick walls and door so whatever was spoken about inside would not leak to the outside unless a commander purposely told someone else. Thatch was bad with secrets, but never serious or life threatening ones.

When the two entered the room and Marco shut the door behind them, Pops faced his smaller son, who spoke immediately, starting at the beginning and not wanting to just start off with the outlandish fact that he knew to be true now.

"I've been keeping an eye on Luffy like I said I would. But, the event with that first water dragon is what got me pretty sure on my hypothesis. Luffy is not a devil fruit user, but is still somewhat animalistic in his behavior and eating habits. The way he enjoys raw meat more than anything else. But, my phoenix senses showed that the feeling Luffy gives off is very similar to the feeling I got from that dragon."

"You mean-"

"I'm not done, I have more proof," Marco interrupted, as he heard the tone of disbelief in his father's voice. "I compared the behaviors Luffy had to those of a dragon in an encyclopedia in the library and they are identical.

"The thing that proves it was that the dragons only left _after_ I let Luffy out to see them. They embraced him, and I heard Luffy speak for the first time. 'Witch'. I think a witch cursed Luffy to be in a human form. It fits all of the pieces of the puzzle together. No one really knows the extent to what witches can do, so cursing a dragon into a human body wouldn't be that hard for a skilled one to do. So, Luffy is a dragon, Pops," Marco concluded. Whitebeard looked shocked, but the evidence was clear, so he believed Marco through and through.

Whitebeard had the anticipated reaction: excitement. "And I want to help them. I want Luffy to be a dragon again, since he's clearly miserable like this, and can't function properly. And I feel bad for scolding him about growling and being defiant now that I know the situation."

"Well, when you want to do something, rarely can anyone stop you. I'd like to help him, too, as well. Should be interesting to say the least, though there is one problem. I know the whereabouts of one witch who would be willing to help us, and she's on one of our protected islands," Whitebeard explained. Marco cursed. They were still in Paradise, heading to the New World, but it would take at least a month to get to the New World and a couple days to reach their target island from Fishman island.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that but sail as swiftly as possible. I'm going to talk to them. Can you give me something valuable? Like a gem or shiny coin? I mean, he would like a spoon, but I want to give Luffy an offering before talking to them about this," Marco explained. "Then I'll tell them the situation and that we want to help them."

Whitebeard looked around the room. He usually kept the most expensive jewels in his room so no one would attempt to take it, since no one but Marco really had the guts to go into the captain's personal quarters. He looked through the box of real valuables and took out a chain necklace with a huge and extremely expensive diamond pendant. "This shiny enough for you?" Whitebeard joked.

"Perfect," Marco replied, and left the room to go speak to the teens and their cursed brother.

-x-

Luffy was moping on the deck looking at his bare feet, wiggling the helpless toes that couldn't do anything to help protect himself. Stupid spongey and fleshy toes. Useless and short toe nails that would still be useless if he grew them out. He looked up with a challenging look and saw Marco standing before him.

The dragon growled and got to his feet, but Marco looked like he meant no harm. Why had he let Luffy go outside? Did he want Luffy to get killed, or did he know something? Luffy would prefer neither. Marco walked closer and held out his hand, fist closed and making all these suspicious, when he opened his palm to show a shiny jewel.

Luffy didn't wait to snatch it from Marco's hands - _mine!-_ and put it in his pocket for safe keeping since he could no longer store treasures inside his stomach without negative consequences. The three looked at the pirate suspiciously.

"Did you need something, commander?" Sabo asked, though he felt nervous that they'd slipped up, or would be punished over the devil fruit lie. Marco asked to talk to them somewhere in private, and the brothers both wanted and didn't want that. A private place meant he could off the three without anyone noticing in time. But a private space would also mean they weren't overheard and more people found out, if that was what Marco wanted to talk to them about.

But the brothers followed the man warily, Luffy fingering the shiny treasure in his pocket before pulling it out and staring at how pretty and sparkly it was. Ace and Sabo smiled down at him, not having seen him react to something this positive in a long time. He'd missed his treasure they had all lost in the blaze. Plus, no one would let him keep the spoon. He was still irked about that incident, but did his best to understand why it would be seen as bad for a human to just steal things.

Luffy wasn't a human, though, so he didn't care what they thought of him about that first incident. Marco lead them to the library, shooing out anyone that was in there at the moment to their confusion and irritation. The captain wasn't there like Ace and Sabo thought he would be if this was something important.

Marco gestures for them to sit, and Ace and Sabo did, while Luffy didn't want to do what he said, and just leaned against the side of the couch his brothers were on. Marco didn't challenge him about it, and just began speaking. "I want to help Luffy get back to normal."

Luffy erupted in suspicious growls, and Marco put his hands up, knowing now that showing submission to a dragon was the safest thing to do if you angered one. "I don't want to hurt you or have any ulterior motive. I'm just sad when I think of your situation and want to help you."

"How do you know?" Sabo demanded, for the first time sounding angry since they were put on the ship.

"I put the pieces together. Luffy's behavior, the dragons' behavior, and I heard through the door 'witch'," Marco explained clearly. "I've already told the captain, but that will be all that know. We know a witch that would willingly help you out if we asked her to, but the problem is that she is very far away from where we are now. It'll take awhile. But, we trust this witch. Going to a stranger witch would probably not end up well and things could just get worse."

Luffy was glaring at him the whole time he talked, and was trying to find a lie but didn't see any trace of one. Marco looked sincere, and had given Luffy the treasure and let him go outside when the dragons were there.

"And I'm sorry for getting on your case about the growling now that I know why you do," the man said sincerely. Luffy frowned, wary of the human but not hostile and thinking he'd attack at any second. "We've told others the lie about your imaginary devil fruit. So they won't get very upset over the hostility and aggressive growling." Ace and Sabo shared a worried glance at being caught lying to the captain and first mate. Were they going to be in trouble for it? And why had the two men shared the lie as truth if they knew it wasn't?

"You are not in trouble, lying was the reasonable thing to do in this situation. I wouldn't have told stranger if I had a dragon in disguise with me either," Marco explained calmly, soothing the teens of their worry of being in trouble. It was necessary to lie, but maybe not to these two. Even with the lie that was supposed to throw them further from the track, Marco still figured it out. He was smart. Maybe too smart, but they couldn't exactly kill him and the captain to keep it quiet, even if they wanted to.

"Can I ask what happened? With the witch?" Marco wondered, though he added they didn't need to talk about it if they didn't want to. Luffy glanced at his brothers, who looked at him for permission, and the boy nodded.

"Luffy killed one of her horses that we didn't know was hers. The witch came here on a ship and settled in the small village at the beach. The horse was out far from her house, and he attacked and ate some of it. It was fat, and Luffy likes the fattiest animals. She got angry and cursed Luffy into this human form.

"Sabo hit her with the pipe from behind, but it hurt her head and she died before we could get her to change Luffy back." The two could understand why the woman had been upset, but it was still overly cruel to do this to Luffy. The horse had no indication that it was owned by anyone, and had clearly been away from the human for a long time, since it didn't smell like the human enough to deter Luffy from the meal.

Luffy had collapsed and couldn't walk for awhile, leaving him utterly helpless. He was doing much better now than he was, but it was still obvious there was something different about him. "Well, make sure not to attack the witch we are going to take you to." Sabo then asked how far it was from there. "It's near the beginning of the New World. It'll take over a month to get there, if the winds are good and we have no complications."

Ace and Sabo's eyes widened when they heard they were gonna have to go to the New World. It was the most dangerous sea, and had the largest population of dragons. That's why there were more dragon hunters in the New World, more skilled in their capturing and killing of the creatures. The two looked at Luffy, who looked worried himself.

He remembered his mother telling Luffy and the other babies not to go past the red wall that cut across the world. She stressed it very much, telling them to stay somewhere peaceful. Was Luffy going to go against her words? Break his promise? He wanted to explain to his brothers that he couldn't go there, but it was the only way to safely turn himself back. Marco was right, a mean witch might turn him into a frog and that would be even worse.

As long as no one knew before he flew away with Ace and Sabo back to Paradise or the Blues, then he should be fine, right? Ace and Sabo would be okay. Luffy would be strong enough… he didn't have babies with him to protect. None of Luffy's mother's babies had been fast or could fly. They were all only a couple months old, so they were a burden on the mother dragon when fleeing the hunters.

Luffy was so glad the hunters were dead, but was still hating humans for killing his family for fun or for money or reputation. He growled to himself quietly until Ace brought his attention back by putting his hand on Luffy's head. Marco looked at them in curiosity, wanting to know what Luffy had been thinking about that Ace acted like he knew what it was.

"Can I ask how you all met?" Marco questioned slowly, cautiously. Ace looked Luffy, who didn't shake his head but looked away, not opposing it but not wanting to take part in it, not that he could add anything anyways.

Ace looked back to Marco, and Sabo put his arm around Luffy's shoulder. He hadn't been there when Ace met Luffy, had only come a year later. Somehow, even though Sabo came later, they were both just as close as Luffy was to Ace. But, Luffy had still been a baby dragon then, so having Sabo help raise him also helped. Luffy retained memories after he was born. He remembered crawling out of the nice warm egg and imprinting on his mother. Playing with his clumsy baby siblings.

"Luffy's family was being hunted by humans in our forest. I found Luffy was the only one left alive out of his mother and siblings. We buried the babies and Luffy stayed with me, and just never left. Luffy hates humans, but Sabo is an exception. He doesn't see us as humans, really, just brothers. That's why he glares and snarls at you all so much," Ace explained, and the three could see understanding dawn on Marco's face and then a look of sadness.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Marco said kindly, referencing the death of Luffy's family. Luffy frowned, not appreciating pity at all. Luffy didn't need someone else's pity, especially a human. He'd had enough sincere sympathy from the dragons, he didn't need more from a human. Sabo frowned down at him when Luffy scowled at Marco. He really made himself seem unlikable to human strangers. But he couldn't help it!

"He's being kind, not giving you pity," Sabo said loud enough for all three to hear. Luffy crossed his arms and looked away. Ace could tell that Marco was having trouble interacting with Luffy, and he could see why. The dragon boy was unable to respond verbally, and practically everything these humans did offended or pissed him off.

The pirate was frowning uncertainly, really not knowing how to proceed without Luffy getting offended or angry. It was probably hard for him to understand that the boy standing in front of him was a completely different species with different morals and values.

Everyone knew - well, smart people - that dragons were sentient and could think as good as or better than humans, but they never really thought that dragons might have different customs. After all, there was no other species on the planet like humans or fishmen and could communicate openly like this.

Luffy was offended by the pity, or whatever Sabo wanted to call it, but the dragon didn't know which response he'd be fine with. He accepted the dragons' sympathies and probable pity but they were his own kind. Marco was a _human._ He wouldn't stand being looked down on by something that kills its own kind for joy.

Ace and Sabo were _not_ humans to Luffy. He would never hold the same regard for them as he did for humans. He looked away from Marco still, and turned around to face the sea, looking down at the water and wondering if any more water dragons were following them. He both hoped so and hoped not. After the previous reactions, he knew he wouldn't be looked down upon by his own kind. They must have understood how he felt, and wanted to give their distressed and trapped fellow being comfort.

Dragons were much better than humans and always would be.


	6. Making An Effort

After the conversation with the brothers, Marco walked away irked at Luffy and completely confused. How was he _supposed_ to react to Luffy's situation? He thought sympathy and kindness would be the best, and they were his natural responses, but he'd clearly offended the kid. _Dragon._ Marco honestly didn't know how old Luffy was, if the three had been telling the truth about him being twelve.

But, how old was twelve in dragon years? What if, to dragons, Luffy was actually way older than his human brothers? Marco immediately wanted to read up in the dragon encyclopedia to learn as much as possible. Not just to be able to deal with Luffy in a good way, but he was now immensely curious about what humans actually knew about them. It couldn't be much, since dragons purposely avoided all human settlements and most meetings were pure coincidence and attacks were almost all provoked or due to the dragon being sick.

But, it was no wonder Luffy hated humans. Not just because he had bad experiences with them, but shouldn't it be natural to hate your entire species' biggest threat? Marco _wanted_ to go read the book, but he had to report to Pops about the meeting. And about Luffy's reaction and wanting to know how to best deal with this.

When he found Pops in the galley, eating breakfast, Marco sat next to him but didn't say a word. There were other people very near and he wanted this to be kept as quiet as possible for the moment. Until one of the brothers slipped up or someone made the connection Marco had. But, he had the dragon book with him, tucked into his sash against his hip, so no one else would be reading from it or seeing it on the shelf in the library.

After the two ate, Whitebeard, quite discreetly, mentioned going out to get some air, and Marco agreed to follow. Neither seemed to give off any suspicion, but people were also in the middle of eating, so they were a bit distracted.

The captain and first mate went to the back deck to talk, where not many people would be. The large man felt a gaze on him and turned towards the feeling to see Luffy staring at him with narrowed eyes, suspicious. Whitebeard raised his eyebrows at the kid before he looked away and walked to a place where the captain could no longer see him, and the man saw both teens stand up, having been out of view by sitting, and followed Luffy.

When Whitebeard and Marco reached the back deck, where no one was looking and close enough to listen, Marco told the captain about his interaction with Luffy, as well as the dragon's past and why he hated humans.

"I have the book on dragons, but I haven't read all of it. But, there's a lot of what we have to learn or accept if we want to help him all the way to the New World and find Robin. She's the only reliable witch you know, right?" Marco questioned. Whitebeard was frowning about Luffy's history, but nodded in reply to Marco's question.

"She's the only one I know well enough to know would be willing to help. You don't think anyone is in danger of Luffy and his dragon side?" the captain asked, a very serious and important question. If the answer is yes, then they needed to get the brothers off, even if he didn't want to do that, but they didn't know the extent of damage the boy could do, even if he wasn't in beast form.

Marco shook his head. "I don't think so. Luffy has been living with humans for most of his life. Plus, he doesn't have any weapons like claws or teeth, and as far as I, or any of us, can tell, he hasn't used any powers. _Though_ the one weapon I could see him being able to use against us is the bond he shares with other dragons. If he wanted, I would bet any of the dragons that sympathizes with him would help him, but I could also be totally wrong and offensive." Marco sighed. "That's the part I'm having trouble with. I want to help him, but I literally have no idea how to approach him."

Whitebeard looked out at the horizon, not really having an answer for his son. He'd only come into contact with one dragon in his long life, and it had been out at sea. One of his first crewmembers had been a fishman, who had gotten a hook in is foot, bleeding into the water. A dragon had swum up under him, inspecting him for food before swimming away, recognizing its mistake.

It was then that he knew dragons were not man eaters. Not because of examples he'd read, but that the dragon hadn't eaten the guy even when he was bleeding in the water. It had been an accident, and fishmen were notorious for being approached by water dragons on mistake. They were more likely to be attacked by water dragons, but were just as rare for being killed and there hadn't been a case in a long time of a dragon eating a human or fishman.

"I don't know how to personally interact with them, but the best thing we can do is be upfront, right? Tell him we don't know how to react, or are unsure of what to do to not offend him. Ace and Sabo seem to get him pretty well, though I do wonder how they have kept the brother mentality and not pet/owner, since the two older can talk but Luffy can't." Marco nodded at his father's words. That did seem like the best approach, though he'd still do his research on what he could.

Marco had never liked not knowing something he needed to know, and not being fully in the loop irked him greatly. And this time, it was necessary that he know as much as possible for his sake, the crew's and the guests'. Plus, he wanted to make Luffy trust them if he was going to be spending a lot of time with them before they got him returned to normal.

He couldn't wait to see what Luffy really looked like. Maybe during the many weeks of their travels, he could even help Luffy learn to speak a bit. But, there was another problem of Marco not knowing how Luffy would react. He may be offended that someone was telling him to become even _more_ human than he already was. Talking was a human thing.

But it would be easier for him to relay what he didn't like with speech. Though, by the time they got there, and Luffy was turned back, learning to speak would have been useless in the long run. Maybe it would just upset him after being able to communicate to being unable to anymore. Maybe Marco would just ask about that.

He passed some pirates on his way to the library, hiding the book under his sash again. He didn't need any curious (nosy) brothers, wondering why Marco had picked up the book. Though, it could be he was just curious after what happened with the dragons.

Multiple pirates that didn't have haki asked him if it was safe to go outside. Marco said it was, but thought more along the lines of "It is for right now," as he was positive more dragons would be visiting. But, as long as no one approached them, or god forbid _attacked_ them, they should be fine. Hopefully. They were just there to see Luffy after all. Curious but also seemingly worried about their fellow.

The man wished humans could relate to each other's' pain like that. It was moving, even if he didn't see it, to know what had happened between the boy and the many dragons. Marco wished he could have gotten a photo of it, but that would probably irritate or offend them, especially Luffy. And especially as it was in a tender and emotional moment.

When he entered the library, he was surprised to find the three brothers were in there, Luffy and Ace on the couch, with the dragon's head resting in Ace's lap as he slept while Sabo read to them aloud. Marco did his best not to attract their attention as he ascended the staircase to the second level.

Neither party acknowledged the other, and Marco was far enough from them not be hear Sabo reading, and he focused on the book of dragons in front of him at the little round table in the far corner of the second story.

Marco quickly grew frustrated with the book, because all it talked about was biology and habitat. Marco wanted to know more about their behavior, what humans knew of their interactions with each other, how they thought. He knew the last one would be improbable, but surely humans knew more about their behavior by now?

He sighed and almost slammed the book down. All he knew now that he didn't know or realize before was that even non-water dragons can hold their breath for an average of thirty minutes and can swim. Also knew that male dragons leave the babies to be taken care of by the mother after the eggs hatch. Before the eggs hatch, the male dragon guards the female and unhatched babies.

The book conveniently managed to leave out any interaction dragons shared with humans, but did comment on their common interactions with fishmen out on open waters. Dragons had attacked fishmen before, but none were never eaten as the dragon knew it made a mistake and quickly left the scene. Fishman did look and swim like large sea mammals, so they knew to watch out for curious or mistaken water dragons.

Before Namur joined the crew, he had lived outside of fishman island and in waters that were very active with dragons. The way he made sure, after many close calls, that they wouldn't attack him was when he started wearing jewelry that distinctly was clear fish or sea mammals didn't wear.

Water dragons didn't like to collect gold or jewels since they were rarely exposed to them, but they collected seashells and healthy looking pieces of coral. So, seeing something excessively shiny didn't match what they knew of their food, and they didn't attack or approach Namur anymore.

Marco remembered having a conversation with him and Izo about one of the larger scars on his body, and said it was from the bite of a baby dragon he'd spooked. A family of dragons had taken up residence in a cave that Namur had visited before, and he'd had no haki at the time. He swam into the cave to see a bunch of broken shells, and before he saw or got bit by the dragon, he realized he was in the wrong place but was able to swim away fast enough to not get caught by the mother.

Because of that instance, he had had to move territories, which irked him. But, he had seen them many times after that incident and nothing bad had come of it. Namur had tried to convince the others to not be afraid of the dragons, but no one had listened. It hadn't been a problem before, since they never came into contact with dragons.

Once Marco was fed up with the limited information of the book, he left the library, passing by the brothers, who were all now napping on the couch, Luffy sandwiched between the brothers laying on their sides. Marco smiled softly at them. It was cute.

-x-

Luffy slept peacefully between his big brothers, curled up and with both of them facing him on the small couch. He knew Ace and Sabo only cuddled because Luffy liked it. They were never seen napping intertwined, only when Luffy was there, too. The dragon didn't care if any other humans thought it was weird.

Sleeping was very different in human form than dragon form. In his dragon form, he was still semi-aware of his surroundings for safety sake, but when he was a human it was like the rest of the outside world was on mute or hidden well. It was an upside and a downside. Upside because he truly relaxed, but downside because it put him and his brothers at risk for being attacked while asleep and Luffy couldn't protect them.

But, sleeping was nice in human form, even if he didn't like the risk it posed. He had dreams, though not very vivid, and he rarely remembered them. Usually they were incomprehensible messes of colors and voices. But he woke up refreshed most times.

When he woke up this time, it was because it was dinner time and he smelled that there was food in the room. It smelled gross, cooked meat. He sat up and rubbed his eyes scrunching up his nose at the unpleasant smell. There were two plates of cooked chicken with some sauce on it, and a plate next to it with raw fish with some pepper and some sort of leaf draped across it.

Luffy turned to the side to see Marco sitting on a couch on the opposite wall, reading some book that Luffy couldn't read the title. Luffy patted his brothers awake, who woke up to what smelled delicious for them. The two immediately dug in, when Luffy sniffed the unfamiliar leaf of the fish. But, he tried it, and it tasted yummy. The pepper made him cough, so he smeared it off with his thumb, and ate the rest of the fish. He used his fingers, but just had them wiped on napkins afterwards.

Eating the fish didn't make a huge mess like eating the steak did. Ace thanked Marco for bringing them the food, and the man said, "No problem. Didn't want to wake you up and the food would get eaten if I didn't save some for you." The man sat forward and closed the book in his hands. "I need to speak with Luffy. Or, have you two speak for him since he can't, exactly." Ace and Sabo's faes grew serious while Luffy scowled.

"What do you want to talk about?" Ace asked, sounding on guard. Sabo was also looking defensive, and Marco clearly didn't like seeing it. But, they were strangers and _pirates._ And to Luffy, they were humans. Dirty humans that were also the added badness of being pirates. Pirates were scum even by human opinion.

"I don't want to keep offending Luffy when I don't mean to. It's just going to keep happening unless I know what or what not to do. I don't want him angry or upset all the time, and I don't want you to hate me or the rest of us when we haven't given you any reason to but that fact that we are humans." Luffy's scowl disappeared and now he was just wearing a frown.

Luffy was glad, however, that Ace and Sabo knew what to say and there was no language barrier between the dragon and his brothers. "Unless you're addressing him directly, don't make eye contact for too long," Ace said first, more than willing to make it so Luffy wasn't always so angry around anyone but the brothers, especially if they were going to be spending a lot of time with these pirates.

Marco had a notepad on the table and began jotting down notes. Ace continued with, "Don't try to take anything away from him that he deems treasure. So, taking away the spoon had been a mistake. That being said, Luffy won't just steal something off of someone but if you hand him something, don't try to take it back at least without saying something about it."

Sabo spoke up next. "Don't glare, look down on, or insult him. That would not be good for you. And no, he won't attack you for it, though he will snarl and growl at you for a long time. Even if he's a dragon, and stupid people think they're violent animals, the worst he could do is bite you or kick. Only if you threaten him." Luffy gave his input and nodded along to what his brothers were saying. He was glad they knew him so well.

"Don't touch him without permission." Marco nodded to that one, like he knew that would be the main one. He might be thinking that "wild" animals never like being touched without permission, and by uneducated people, dragons were often called wild animals, instead of just _dragons._ Dragons were classified by their own kingdom. Plants, animals, and dragons. But, because dragons were similar to non-human animals, they were referenced as animals more. Luffy had never been called a wild animal before, since he had never spent time with humans, but his brothers and he had been too scared to hear if the humans who hunted him called them wild animals or anything derogatory.

"Don't try to assert dominance over him. Don't command him to do things," Sabo added. Marco continued to list down things he was told not to do.

"Bowing to him is a little too much here, but just for you to know, most dragons in normal habitats won't like you trying to assert dominance over the situation. So, if one is angry at you, bow to it," Ace said. He had learned to be around the dragons in the forest for long before Luffy was hatched, and that included swallowing his pride and paying respect, or making himself seem small in the presence of one. Before the hunters had killed the ones on the brothers' home island, which was gone now.

Marco nodded along, and there were a few more simple instructions that you wouldn't do to any living creature that you didn't know was okay with it, like taking away food they were eating or being disrespectful in any way.

By the end, Luffy was rubbing his face against Ace and Sabo's arms, glad they knew him so well and showing them he loved them for it. Sabo rubbed Luffy's head while Ace patted his back in response to the affection. The two humans blushed at Marco's soft smile. The man stuffed the notepad in his sash like a pocket, and took the plates back.

Even now, he made sure to tell Luffy he was taking the plate, which earned him bonus points for the dragon, not really having expected the human to follow what Ace and Sabo had just listed. He thought Marco was doing this just to look good.

But, Marco proved later that day that he was serious when he seemed to come up with a remedy to bowing and also avoiding eye contact that surprised Luffy the most. Humans make eye contact naturally, and Marco amended that by glancing at Luffy's eyes only to flick his eyes downward and back up, like he was discreetly bowing. It worked and Luffy went with it, not feeling insulted by sharing eye contact after the small show of just a _tiny_ bit of submission. Ace and Sabo were impressed, too.

The three were pretty sure people started noticing when Luffy growled at everyone besides Marco and Whitebeard, who they assumed had been briefed by Marco's list. Though, the giant did not show submission to Luffy, because he was the captain of the ship and didn't submit to anyone.

This was the only person Luffy was alright with not submitting to him. Mostly because Luffy knew he would not be the bigger one even if he was in dragon form, and size matters for dragons. If he got into a tiff with another dragon, or they turned hostile, it was natural for the smaller one to show submission to the larger one.

Just that little show of acknowledgement would calm the fight and the dragons would move on. It was much simpler for dragons. A sign of submission didn't show weakness, it was respect. Humans seemed to think submission was showing you were weak and not worthy of being treated equal.

After the meeting with Marco, Luffy was surprised to be later given a metal nut and bolt and was instructed to twist the nut up and down for finger dexterity practice. It was to help him use his new fingers more successfully. The dragon had looked at him in confusion, and almost got angry, but Marco added that he was just trying to be helpful, and not looking down on him. Many others heard it and were confused, but no one commented on it while he was near.

Luffy then spent much of the rest of the day against the railing, trying to use the little metal object correctly and Ace napped while Sabo read.

-x-

"Marco, why are you acting so weird?" Thatch wondered after Marco had one of his weird interactions with Luffy. It was like he had a twitch and would look down everytime he faced the weird kid.

Marco gave the cook a blank look. "What do you mean?" he asked, playing dumb. Thatch, Izo and Fossa were all there, too, all having been out on deck for a break in the nice cool air for Fossa to have a smoke. The three looked at the first mate like he was an idiot.

"You're acting strange around the kid," Izo pointed out, fidgeting with his expensive fan. Marco looked at them blankly.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Luffy seems to have trouble with his hands, so I gave him something that might help," Marco replied. It was the truth, just leaving out a great deal of it. When the three commanders all gave him a look that said they knew he was bullshitting them, Marco's mouth dipped downwards a bit.

But, he kept it closed, showing he wasn't going to answer the question. "And why does he growl at everyone, _but you?"_ Thatch demanded. He had been feeding the kid what he wanted _only -_ raw fish and bloody meat - and yet he had gotten growled at almost every time he approached him. And if not growled at, he got a nasty scowl.

Marco sighed. "Maybe he just likes me," he offered. "Or maybe you're too loud and pushy about his food." Thatch unexpectedly blew up.

"HE ONLY EATS RAW FISH OR BLOODY MEAT! That is _not_ a healthy diet! And everytime I try to feed him something that would taste better, he growls at me! When he's affectionate with his brothers it's adorable but to be frank, Luffy is very rude," Thatch ranted. The group were far enough from the dragon boy to not be heard by him, despite how loud the chef was being.

"I don't know what to tell you," Marco said calmly. Though he knew he would be just as frustrated as Thatch was if he hadn't learned the truth and had asked how he could _not_ upset the cursed dragon.

Izo watched him with narrowed eyes, clearly seeing something was up. "You could at least be a little honest. You know more about them than we do. I can tell, you may be good at sounding board and flat, but i'm good at detecting lies. You and Pops are in on something. Even if you don't tell us, you could at least be honest about that," the crossdresser pointed out, pursing his lips.

Marco sighed. "Well, you're right. But, we're not telling anyone what is up yet, so be patient and try not to take Luffy's attitude personally." Thatch's jaw dropped, and he snapped his gaze to Whitebeard, who could hear them nearby and the man grinned at Thatch, and then looked away. Izo grew upset, too, while Fossa just sighed, not caring much about whatever secret was being kept and why.

Thatch stomped to the side of the ship while Marco walked away, and watched as Luffy's hands fumbled with the toy and it fell, rolling through the bars of one part of the railing and into the water. He looked over the side of the ship, sadly, but Ace put his hand on Luffy's head, and on cue, Luffy rubbed his face on Ace's hand.

It was as cute as it was odd. Luffy was a strange kid and there was clearly more behind his bizarre behavior. And the two older brothers seemed to spoil him too much for his own good, not scolding him for his hostile behavior or rude actions. No one had still heart the brat speak, and Haruta had noticed earlier that Luffy had an expensive necklace on, one that the pirates had gotten from an abandoned ship.

The smaller commander had brought it to Whitebeard's attention, and his answer confused and infuriated all that were annoyed with the kid. His reply was, "Don't think about it too hard." Meaning, the captain was fine with Luffy somehow having an object kept in Pops's own chambers. Also meaning that he had most likely given it to the boy, or Marco - traitor! - had and had the yonko's blessing.

Everything about the three frustrated them and no one knew what they were gonna end up doing with them but Pops and Marco. And the two men had completely brushed off the oddity that was the swarm of dragons. It was frustrating to say the least.


	7. Don't Bite The Hand That Feeds You

**This chapter we see someone I don't think anyone who has see** **n/read the series likes. More on that at the end. Enjoy~**

* * *

Luffy's eyelids slid open slowly as he woke from the sound of Ace's arm falling off of the bed. He, Ace and Sabo were all on the single bed in the guest room they'd be in for the next couple weeks. Ace was snoring loudly while Sabo had his face pressed into his pillow. The blankets were thrown haphazardly over the three, Luffy sandwiched in the middle. He turned to the side to see his pink, fleshy arm ending in harmless fingers that twitched slightly in his control.

The dragon sighed and rolled to the side and looked at the wall, seeing a small porthole and not surprised to see there was something watching. Even if Luffy didn't have his dragon senses, he still felt like he was being watched all the time. On a ship with this many humans, it was a given, but even when no one was around but his brothers, it still felt like someone or something was always watching.

Luffy turned onto his other side, away from the wall and eye watching him, and tried to go back to sleep. He closed his eyes but didn't feel sleep coming on. Usually, if he woke up in the middle of the night, he could dull all his senses willingly to fall back to sleep. They would still be active, but his mind would be resting.

As a human, it was either full sensory or nothing. Luffy sighed and slowly sat up so he didn't wake Ace or Sabo, and got off the bed. He opened the door slowly and closed it softly, going to head down the hall and to the bathroom which wasn't far at all. He passed one human in the hallway, a big and fat one that looked at him skeptically with broken teeth.

An ugly human. Luffy scowled at him, and snarled when a scowl was given back to him. "Fucking weirdo," the broken-teeth man said. Luffy flared up at the utter disrespect of this filthy human. He _hated_ them. All of them but Ace and Sabo and maybe Marco. Marco was acceptable so far.

Luffy wouldn't allow this human to insult him but didn't have weapon and didn't want to let go of his new treasure he was given. He had nothing to fight with, and the man was much bigger than he was, but Luffy's pride wouldn't allow this man to insult him, even in passing and would not be a big deal to another human.

Luffy jumped him, biting down on his shoulder _hard_ before jumping a few paces back as the man screamed in pain. Luffy almost smiled. He wasn't completely helpless in this human body. Maybe he could do something with it until he was back to normal. His bite definitely was infinitely weaker than in his dragon form.

The angry shout woke up the only residents near this part of the ship, and Ace and Sabo came running out after finding Luffy was gone. They saw their humanified brother at a stand off with a big, hairy man. Luffy had blood in the corner of his mouth, meaning he'd bitten this guy. And the pirate was furious.

Ace and Sabo ran forward and stood between Luffy and the pirate. "That little shit bit me!" Luffy snarled menacingly. But, it was in the form and sound of a little boy, so it was far from intimidating, though he had attacked despite the size difference and lack of weapon.

"Leave Luffy alone," Sabo said strongly. "You must have started it," he accused, not thinking Luffy would attack without being provoked, though it would be best if he hadn't fought back about whatever the pirate had said.

"All I did was call him weird!" the pirate shouted back. Luffy didn't back down and continued to snarl and glower at the man much bigger than his puny human form.

"I knew it!" Ace said loudly, glad he was right and that Luffy wouldn't have attacked for no reason. Though, for a human, being called weird would just earn a glare or harsh words, not a painful bite. But that was all Luffy could do in this form.

Ace was suddenly very worried about him. He was a child human body with a prideful dragon trapped inside. His pride no longer matched his strength and he could be _hurt_ now. If Luffy picked a fight with the wrong person, he could be injured or even killed. Suddenly, this whole ordeal felt much, much scarier.

"All I did was call him a name, he didn't need to fucking bite me!" the pirate protested, and Ace and Sabo knew that he was right. But to Luffy, what he did was the right thing, he didn't want to allow anyone to talk down to him. Especially not a human. But, the dragon could have just gotten himself into a lot of trouble.

"Luffy, we're going back to the room," Sabo said in a harsh voice, feeling the same panic and realization as Ace. Luffy looked upset, but Sabo gave him a very pointed look, one that conveyed worry and the dragon suddenly was worried as well. Did he do something bad? All he did was make this human understand he wouldn't be okay with being insulted. Luffy nodded reluctantly and the three walked the few paces back to the open door and closed it behind them, even if Luffy had to pee.

The man was still glaring at them, holding the painful bite mark. Once the brothers heard him stomping away, grumbling swear words and insults, Sabo and Ace rounded on Luffy. "Lu, you can't attack these pirates unless they attack you first," Sabo stressed. Luffy looked confused with why he was in trouble. He cocked his head in clear question.

"We don't want to bite the hand that feeds us. They are taking us to fix you, we can't risk being kicked off the ship," Ace said emphatically. "You need to act more human. I _know_ you hate this, but it's for our own good. I can't imagine how uncomfortable you must be in this situation, but you have to bite the bullet, Lu. Don't you want to get turned back?" Luffy nodded. "Then we can't risk having these pirates kick us off the ship."

Luffy looked down, somewhat ashamed but also upset that he had to back down now, as it went completely against everything he was. But, he nodded in understanding. Ace took a deep breath, and reluctantly added, "You may need to apologize."

Sabo and Ace were expecting the outrage. Luffy growled at the notion, but both big brothers gave him a stern look. Luffy shrunk down a bit, pouting profusely. "If you don't attack anyone else, you won't have to apologize again. Just for this one incident, alright? We know you can't speak, but you have to at least act repentant."

Luffy nodded slowly once again. "Why don't we go back to bed?" Sabo offered, trying to change the subject, but Luffy shook his head. He wasn't tired anymore. He wished to go outside, not liking the complete dark much. He was used to star and moonlight at night, not this pitch darkness. "You want to go outside?" the blonde guessed.

The dragon nodded, a smile on his face from Sabo being able to almost read his thoughts. Luffy latched onto his arm and rubbed his cheek against it. Sabo and Ace smiled, glad to see Luffy happy, since it was so rare lately. Ace took Luffy's other hand and held it tightly. The three walked down the hall and up the stairs to the ground floor and out the way they knew the exit was.

When they went outside, it was chilly, but it didn't bother Ace and Sabo. Luffy had the chills, still not used to the cold in his new and sensitive skin. The three went to the railing, and looked over the side. They were treated to the sight of some dolphins in the distance. The ship was anchored as it was night time, so the dolphins passed by them quickly.

Luffy looked directly down over the side and saw lots of shiny silver fish. They looked yummy, and Luffy had the urge to fly down and grab some out of the water before he remembered that wouldn't work. Instead of lamenting about the loss of that possibility, he forced himself to look forward to doing it again, now that they had a plan to turn him back. If he behaved. It would be hard, he knew. But, he'd do his best, even if his best didn't end up being good enough.

-x-

The next morning, Marco was told directly by Teach that the little brat bit him. He showed the bite mark on his shoulder. Marco frowned at it, and told Teach to get it checked out by the nurses and cleaned. He didn't know why Teach didn't get it checked out last night with the nurse on night duty.

"Are you going to punish him, commander?" Teach asked before leaving.

"I will talk to them. In the meantime, try not to interact with the three. We don't want to make anything worse," Marco replied. He knew the answer wasn't what Teach had been hoping for. He wasn't going to pin any blame on Teach, even though he must have done something to provoke the testy dragon. He didn't want to anger the man more than he already was.

Marco headed to the room for the three brothers, but felt there was no one there. So, he headed to the galley, thinking they may have gone to breakfast, but they weren't there either. He searched the ship, and the bathrooms, before finally finding them out on deck, fast asleep against the railing, looking so peaceful.

It was early morning, so still a bit chilly out and Marco could see the goosebumps on Luffy's skin, and left to get a blanket to drape over them. He'd talk to them about what happened later, when they were awake.

In the meantime, Marco would tell Pops about what happened, even if he didn't have the full story yet. He found the captain in the galley, eating his massive serving of breakfast. Thatch was slaving away in the kitchen with his sou chefs, making breakfast as quickly as possible as pirates began to filter in.

Whitebeard sensed Marco's slight unease easily. "What's wrong, son?" the man asked.

Marco sat next to him, waiting for the next batch of food to be served on the kitchen bar counter. "Luffy bit Teach," Marco said simply. He was surprised when the captain started laughing. Marco looked at him strangely. "Why are you laughing?" he asked.

"Teach is a strong pirate, yet he got bitten by a small child?" Whitebeard chuckled. Marco knew he had a point. Teach had clearly let his guard down around the dragon, but it was still serious for a guest to attack one of the crew. "We get in fights all the time. On a regular basis, a small bite won't dictate kicking the brats off the ship. How big was the bite mark?"

Marco replied, "Not too big."

"Well, if a small bite mark is the worst Luffy can do at the moment, must we really worry about it?" The captain was right again. Though the incident was undesirable, it showed Luffy was really a human child at the moment, and the worst he could do was leave a small bite mark. It may have hurt, but it's far from a fatal wound.

"I'll talk to him about it later. The three are sleeping outside at the moment. By the way, have you noticed we've been being followed for awhile now?" Marco asked, changing the question. The captain nodded.

"I have, but we don't need to worry. I doubt any of them are here to harm anyone. They are probably just curious about Luffy," the man said, unconcerned. The ship had been being followed by multiple creatures, a couple small ones and one large one that had been following under the ship for the longest. "I think we will need to get used to their presence until Luffy is restored back to normal and the brats are off the ship. So, how is the reading of that dragon encyclopedia going?"

Marco sighed at the question. "Not very helpful." The book had been practically useless, and it frustrated the man. "The best thing I can do to get more information is to talk to the kids directly."

Whitebeard nodded along, taking a large sip of his coffee, which was only second to sake, and said, "You've been handling the boy very well, even if its attracting your brothers' attention." Marco smiled at the praise, agreeing with him. He had been following what the two teens had told him about the dragon, and he hadn't been growled at in awhile.

"They have been, and always will be, nosy. Especially Thatch and Izo. I think it would be best if everyone knew how to treat Luffy, but it would raise a lot of questions that I don't have good fake answers to. So, I'm not sure how to approach it," Marco confessed. When Thatch rang the little bell, signaling a new serving was ready, Marco got up and went to get his own food.

When he came back, the captain and first mate continued their conversation. "I think the truth will eventually come out before we can reach Robin. Either by someone making the connections as I did, or it slipping out some other way, but eventually, everyone will know and I don't know how they will react. Maybe with understanding, maybe with fear. Maybe with ill intent. I have no idea what to expect if and when the truth eventually and inevitably comes out."

Whitebeard looked at him strangely. "You've taken a liking to the brat, haven't you?" Marco frowned, not really thinking he had, but why else would he care so much? Was it pity? Luffy seemed to make himself quite unlikable, yet Marco sympathized with him deeply and wished to help him. Though, seeing Luffy's walls break down with his brothers, when he rubs his face on them or hold their hands, touches his heart.

"I don't know. I just know I want to help him, even if he is a little shit sometimes. Though I can't blame him in his situation. It's a strange one and I know we'll probably never come across this kind of situation again. I'm also curious about dragons now," Marco replied honestly.

He stopped talking about the three when they came walking into the room. Luffy was holding Ace and Sabo's hands, a tiny smile on his face. Marco's gaze softened at the small show that Luffy wasn't always defensive. If he was like this with his brothers in public, Marco wondered how he acted in private, when he was happy and in his normal body.

Thatch served Luffy his raw fish, like usual, with a small amount of natural spices that Luffy hadn't asked for but didn't get upset at. He scarfed down the food, using his hands like always. Thatch gave him a wet wash cloth and put it by his rapidly emptying plate to wipe his hands off afterwards, while Ace and Sabo dug into much more varied foods.

Luffy awkwardly wiped his hands and then held it out for Thatch to take. He then looked around at everyone and Marco watched as his eyes narrowed at Teach as he walked into the room, looking sour. Whitebeard observed it, too, and when Sabo caught Luffy scowling at Teach, he shook his arm and shook his head when Luffy turned to look at him.

The dragon made a very human gesture and crossed his arms grumpily. Looked like Sabo and Ace _could_ discipline him, even if it was something small like this. After the brothers were done eating, and Marco, too, he followed them out of the room, the commanders watched with suspicious eyes, as they weren't stupid and knew Marco knew something they didn't.

"Luffy, Ace and Sabo, I need to talk to you," Marco said. When the brothers turned around, Marco glanced downwards before making eye contact with Luffy. "I heard about the bite. Teach can be a crass guy, but it's not good to be violent, especially on this ship when we're trying to help you." Sabo stopped him from saying anything more and held up his hand.

"We already talked to him about it. Luffy won't do it again unless it's self-defense," the blonde said. Luffy pouted but nodded in agreement. "We're all really grateful for your help and don't mean to be disrespectful when Luffy is standoffish. He's only like this recently and because of where we are."

Marco nodded in acknowledgement. "I do ask for you to be more respectful, and maybe offer an apology to Teach." Luffy scowled grumpily and looked away defiantly. Marco let out a small sigh, not knowing really why he so wanted to help Luffy when he was making himself unlikable. It was a mystery to the pirate. "What did Teach do to make you bite him?"

"He called Luffy a name," Ace said simply. Marco nodded, and could understand why Luffy had attacked, as his pride seemed to be very big and sensitive, even if the result was undesirable.

"Still, you shouldn't go around attacking anyone for being rude," Marco replied, though he made sure to not use the word "can't". Talking to Luffy or about him was like walking on eggshells. Hopefully it would become easier the longer the brothers were on the ship. Luffy continued to pout, like the child form he was in.

"He knows that now. We won't risk losing our chance at fixing this, right Lu?" Sabo stressed. Luffy, very reluctantly, nodded his head in agreement. Marco nodded, too, glad the dragon could back down when necessary, even if he clearly despised doing so.

"I need all three of you to go to Izo so he can make you some new outfits for your stay. If he asks you about why we are keeping you for awhile, as the commanders now know you will be with us longer than previously thought, just tell him that pops and I told you not to say anything about it. He may get angry, but it won't be at you and please, Luffy, don't growl at him. Izo is no pushover."

-x-

The trio nodded and followed Marco inside until he pointed to a single door near the entrance. The three wondered what was inside and were surprised by the size of the room. It was much bigger than they expected. It had fabrics hanging on the wall, with multiple sewing machines like stations. There were also piles of what they assumed were dirty clothes, separated into sixteen piles with multiple machines that only Sabo recognized.

Izo, the one who dressed fancy and wore makeup, was waiting, standing near a stool and mirrors. They walked to him silently, and he immediately told Sabo to take off his shirt and stand on the stool. He was less than happy about showing his scars, that both he and Ace had from living in the jungle and fighting dangerous animals, but did as he was told.

Izo made no comment and gave no impression that he even noticed the marks, which he and Ace were glad of. It was embarrassing how many times they'd been injured, even if Luffy had been good at healing the wounds with his saliva, the scars remained.

Sabo was measured around his torso, waist, hips and arms for new clothes, as Ace was next. He had never had this done before, so it was a bit uncomfortable. Luffy hated it, but did as his brothers told him to. He didn't like the stranger human touching him, but he didn't think Izo was going to hurt him, even if he was overly suspicious and clearly made the man uncomfortable with his staring.

"We'll have new clothes for all three of you by the end of tomorrow. Some that will actually fit Luffy, unlike the obvious hand me downs from you two." He paused for a moment as Luffy put his shirt back on, showing that he was the only one of the three that wasn't covered in scars. "So, can you tell me why Marco has said you'll be with us for at least a month?"

"Marco told us not to tell you," Ace said, not hiding the amusement at the man's frustration. Izo narrowed his eyes, but Luffy growled at the angry look directed to his brother. "Luffy," Ace said in an almost warning. Izo pursed his lips at Luffy.

"Why are you so hostile, Luffy?" Izo asked, though there was curiosity in his voice. "It's not like we've done anything wrong to you. We're actually helping you, yet you keep growling and glaring. Even at Thatch when he goes out of his way to feed you only specific foods." Luffy frowned, and then spoke, surprising all three humans in the room.

"Soopid hoomins," Luffy slurred. Ace and Sabo grew pale, but the lie Sabo made just a day ago potentially saved them.

"You're a human too, even if you have a zoan fruit," Izo pointed out, one very manicured eyebrow lifted.

"No," Luffy said defiantly.

"Then, if you're not a human, then you're calling your brothers stupd, too," Izo countered, clearly not taking Luffy seriously or literally. The two teens were thankful for this, even though it angered their brother. Luffy, "Hmph"ed and turned away. "You're going to get yourself in trouble with someone less patient if you keep up the attitude," Izo pointed out. "You should be thankful that Pops and Marco have taken a liking to you."

Ace and Sabo put their hands on Luffy's shoulders and turned him around, leading him out of the room so he couldn't make himself seem even more suspicious or bratty. When the three were back in the library, in the spot they liked to sit, Ace and Sabo looked at Luffy sternly.

"Luffy, we're glad you could speak, but you can't talk like that to these people unless you want to be discovered or unceremoniously kicked off of this ship. And then we'd have no way to turn you back," Ace said. He was clearly irritated with Luffy, and the dragon felt bad for upsetting his brothers, who he was messing everything up for.

He looked down in shame, slumping his shoulders, defeated. "Sss hard," Luffy slurred, doing his best to speak.

"We know, Lu. But you have to do your best to be civil. You have to, at least for now, resist your dragon urges. For all of our safety and future, okay?" Ace stressed. "You don't need to be especially nice, but you _really_ need to _try_ to be civil, and not hostile. No matter what they do unless it puts any of us in danger. I'm sorry that I have to say this, but we have to. You need to act more human. Not completely, you don't need to eat human food if you don't want, but you can't keep acting like this."

Luffy looked miserable, eyes watery, and Ace had to fight the urge to take it all back. Sabo made sure to add, "It's not permanent. Just for now, okay?" The dragon nodded slowly. "Just do your best, okay? We know you can do it if you really try."

And Luffy did do his best to not be hostile after the talk. By avoiding all contact with any of the humans. And, despite being on a ship with hundreds of them, he was doing well with it. He refused to make any eye contact with any of them, and each time a human pirate came near, he'd turn around and walk in the opposite direction. Or, if he was in a hall and one of them was approaching him and his brothers, he'd enter the nearest room. Including bedrooms, and he just didn't care about going where he wasn't supposed to. He was doing what Ace and Sabo told him to; not being hostile by not making any contact.

The only human other than his brothers that Luffy would be in any contact was Marco. Even during meals, Luffy didn't go inside and Ace and Sabo brought their meals outside to eat so Luffy didn't need to be around so many humans.

Ace and Sabo knew this was Luffy doing his best in the easiest way for him, and they were used to being by themselves, so it wasn't a big deal. Though everyone were noticing their absence from meals, and that Luffy wasn't growling at anyone, instead just fleeing the scene.

This went against everything he was as a prideful dragon, and it was awful. He'd rather be being a nuisance than turning tail and fleeing. It was humiliating. Though, going away from everyone to places on deck that no one visited had made contact with other dragons increasingly more often than before, when they would stay inside.

But no one was around, and it wasn't like anyone would go out of their way to approach the brothers, so no one saw the dragons visiting the back of the ship, though the three didn't know that some of the commanders knew more dragons were popping up.

-x-

Marco sat at the table with his brothers and fellow commanders, eating dinner. Again, for the fifth day, the two teens made an appearance while Luffy stayed away. Izo had told Marco about Luffy speaking, ranting about how damn _rude_ the kid was. He tried getting answers about what Marco and Whitebeard knew, but neither of them would budge.

Luffy had clearly been given a talking to by his brothers, and that was why they were noticeably absent as often as they could. Marco and all of the commanders knew that dragons were approaching the ship more and more, and the same one, the massive one that they knew was bigger than the ship, continued to follow them, gliding underneath the ship.

None of them let on to the rest of the crew about said dragons, not wanting them to freak out. Though, Thatch was freaked about the amount of dragons that kept visiting. And everyone knew how completely abnormal it was for so many to approach a human ship. The one below them had not surfaced, even at night when it seemed to sleep near the ship.

After Marco read the entire dragon encyclopedia, he had learned that there were very few dragons known to be as big as the one following them. But, he also read that dragons this big were either strictly land or strictly water. So, even if it wanted, the dragon couldn't surface.

When the man told his follow commanders this, they had been a little more at ease, until Jozu pointed out that it could still destroy the ship if it wanted. Marco had looked at him in frustration, while Pops just laughed. But the two top officials on the crew were still being pestered about what they refused to share.

Izo, Thatch, and Haruta were quite indignant about being kept in the dark, but still Marco and Whitebeard didn't budge. The captain started to even have fun frustrating his sons. They acted like children about it, and it was hilarious to him, much to their annoyance.

The more relaxed ones like Jozu, Fossa and Vista tried to convince the three that the truth would come out eventually, and that they should wait patiently. It was easier said than done when Pops teased them for fun. Thatch whined more about this than anything in a long time.

When the three started sleeping outside, like it was no problem that it was cold and the deck hard, Marco started to feel bad for them. It had to be uncomfortable, but he remembered that the brothers had lived in the jungle for most if not all of their lives. Surely they didn't have mattresses out there. But still, having them completely withdraw from any contact with anyone made him feel sad.

He brought them blankets at night, but only when no dragons were present. Which hadn't been the case for the past two nights he'd gone out to bring them a blanket or some pillows. Small, bird sized dragons slept on top of or next to Luffy. Ace and Sabo slept next to the cursed dragon, despite having wild dragons right next to themselves.

He had tried to slowly bring the blanket to them, not making eye contact with the little beasts, though him approaching had earned high pitched growls. He had set the blanket down not far from them and left in a hurry. He wasn't afraid of the little creatures, as they were the size of seagulls, but he worried about waking the three or upsetting Luffy by bothering his fellow dragons.

By the sixth day, the dragon following them day and night, clearly not having anything better to do, it made a move. The ship was gently bumped on the side, sloshing a bit and making some pirates stumble. It might have gotten impatient about not being able to see Luffy, who was no doubt the reason it was following them. But, Marco didn't know how to appease it. Luffy couldn't just jump into the Grand Line sea to play with the strictly water dragon.

So, the man had no idea what it wanted from them. Well, from Luffy. After two more nudges, scaring pirates again like the day after the three had arrived, Marco approached the three brothers, who were looking over the side of the ship, trying to see the dragon they must know was there by now.

But the water was not clear, and they could only see small movements of something very large under the ship. "Hi, Marco," Sabo said when the man entered their claimed area of the deck. The three were much more open with Marco than anyone else, as the commander continued to follow the instructions he was given about how to successfully interact with Luffy.

Luffy was looking over the side, bent over and trying to get a look at the creature. "Hi, guys. This dragon has been following us for days. Has it surfaced at all that you know of?" The two teens shook their heads while Luffy continued to peer over the side.

A nudge shook the ship again, and Luffy tumbled over the side, landing in the water with a loud splash.

* * *

**Even though Teach was in this chapter, he is not the main villain of the story. The story is more about the brothers, not any villains or enemies. There are bad guys, but not the entire focus of the story. Review please!**


	8. A New Danger Discovered

**Lordpillee: We will find out much more about dragon culture and Luffy's life and dragon form, so look forward to that. It does talk about he role of male dragons later in the story. I think I've tied all the strings in this fic, explaining the dragons A LOT. So, look forward to all of that!**

* * *

The moment Luffy found himself falling, he didn't even scream, shocked by what was happening and trying to keep himself afloat after hitting the water painfully hard, his soft and sensitive skin stinging, but the dragon that had been following them grabbed Luffy with a huge and webbed hand and pulled him under.

Luffy thrashed around, his eyes open and seeing a huge yellow eye peering at him as it dragged him deeper. Luffy was about to try and fight back, for once scared of one of his own, before he was suddenly contained in a bubble, and was able to breathe again. The large dragon had blown a spongy bubble around the kid so he could breathe.

He suddenly felt bad for fearing the dragon, even if it had dragged him under harshly. The bubble was perfectly clear, and Luffy looked around in awe, forgetting that his brothers must be freaking out. He saw fish swimming around and the absolutely gigantic dragon peering at him curiously.

The bubble was pulled deeper, grabbed by the hand but not popping under the pressure, so that the dragon wasn't so close to the surface. Luffy was pulled under the ship, deep enough that it was getting harder to see. But the dragon stopped diving once the ship was not in its way. It swam in graceful circles around the bubble, inspecting the boy inside it.

It cocked its head, and Luffy smiled at it. Gaining a baring of teeth, copying the dragon-human. If it wasn't a fellow dragon, and was a sea king, Luffy would have been afraid of the huge and sharp teeth bared at him.

The inspection didn't last long, as the dragon got a look at what it had been wanting for the past couple days, and Luffy was brought back to the surface, the bubble popping as Luffy's head reached the air. He saw the dark blue figure disappear deeper and swim away.

Ace and Sabo were screaming his name, and Marco flew down in phoenix form to pick him up and bring him back to the deck. Luffy was soaking wet when he was tackled by his brothers, both of whom were shaking. Luffy put his arms around them.

Marco was looking over the side of the ship, on guard, but the constant presence for the last six days had faded, and was now completely gone. "Are you okay?" he asked Luffy, who nodded. His hair was stuck to his forehead and cheeks while his clothes clung to his body. "What happened? How did you not drown?" the man asked in disbelief.

"Bbble," Luffy said. He was speaking more, though it was the bare minimum. Just to make things easier on his brothers, even if he hated acting more human, and nothing was more human than speaking.

"It stuck you in a bubble?" Marco clarified, with Luffy nodding in affirmation. Whitebeard came over, looking tense, when he saw Luffy soaking wet and Ace and Sabo clinging to him.

"What happened?" the captain demanded.

"The dragon that's been following us dragged Luffy under the water after he fell overboard. Seemed to be curious and trapped Luffy in a bubble so he could breathe," Marco explained, his face lit up in interest and awe. "It's gone now after bringing Luffy back up to the surface."

Whitebeard turned to Luffy and asked if he was alright, and the boy nodded. Ace and Sabo were checking him over, pulling his shirt up to see if the dragon had injured him while pulling him under before the bubble. However, Luffy was perfectly fine. Not a scratch on him. And he was smiling. It had been amazing! He wished the dragon hadn't left. Though it was really scary at first.

He didn't like falling overboard, but it was the closest thing he'd had to flying for weeks. A few commanders came over, sensing the dragon leaving and going in the direction the captain had hurried off to. Luffy turned around when he saw all of the humans.

"What the- why is Luffy wet?" Haruta questioned.

Marco answered, "Luffy fell overboard."

"What?! With the dragon in the water?! He's a devil fruit user, how did he survive?" Thatch demanded. Izo and a few of the others looked confused but also suspicious. The two older brothers began to sweat. What if they connected the dots that something was weird with Luffy and dragons? It was the second encounter he'd had with them that had been calm and nonfatal. And that huge one had been following them for almost a week, yet it swam away once Luffy fell overboard. The three hoped that none of the pirates would piece the puzzle together, like the first mate had.

"The dragon didn't attack Luffy. Dragons aren't needlessly hostile. Besides, it's not like Luffy would threaten it or anything," Marco replied smoothly. "Let's get you dry with some clean clothes."

Luffy turned around to follow Marco, Ace and Sabo on either side flanking him. The three made no eye contact with any of the onlookers, and walked silently. They could all feel the stares on their backs and Luffy had a hard time not growling. Ace rubbed his back and Luffy relaxed, rubbing his face against his brother, hoping they weren't too shaken about him being dragged under.

The dragon was surprised that neither of them ended up jumping in, regardless of the giant dragon below the ship. Maybe the dragon would have understood that Luffy trusted them and the three could have shared the underwater experience. Since these dragons found Luffy so easily, it made him question why, on their _days_ stranded in the ocean that no dragon had approached them.

It would have been helpful to have a dragon's assistance. Though, if they had, the trio would never have found a hopeful solution to the major problem at hand. Despite Luffy not liking the humans one bit, the three were thankful that they were found by them.

The three went to the room they didn't use, and got a towel on the way, Luffy drying himself off and changing once Marco was out of the room. "Was it scary, Lu?" Sabo asked, finally alone to talk privately. Luffy nodded.

"Ah firs," he said. Then he smiled. "Fun affer."

"Well, it was scary for us. I bet the dragon was bumping against the ship to see you and knock you into the water. Probably has been waiting to do that for a long time and got impatient. It was _big._ And we saw the giant hand come up and drag you under. I… I thought you were gonna drown Lu, but Marco stopped us from jumping in after you." Luffy lost his smile when Sabo sniffled, and turned away. Luffy's eyebrows pulled closer to each other and he walked over and hugged Sabo tightly. Ace looked pained as well when Luffy turned back around, still holding onto his much taller brother.

"You've always been with us, Lu. Helping us and we could do nothing to help you. You would have died under there and we probably would have never gotten your body back," Ace said in a broken voice. "I don't know what I would have done if you were gone. I'm sorry for getting mad at you, about your behavior. Will you promise us you won't leave us for dragons?"

Luffy's mouth opened in surprise. They thought he would leave them for his own kind? Sure, Luffy liked interacting with them a lot, and being able to speak with them would be amazing, but he loved Ace and Sabo and would never leave them. He unwrapped his arms from Sabo and walked to Ace, who was sitting on the bed.

The dragon climbed onto the bed and hugged Ace tightly, putting his forehead against Ace's. "Brofer, nefr leaf." Ace suddenly broke down, and Luffy couldn't believe he'd not seen these feelings from his brothers, as Sabo was crying too. Luffy had never seen his brothers cry.

"I know we can't understand you like other dragons would be able to, and we don't know how you feel about a lot of things. But I'm scared you'll leave us for them," Ace confessed quietly. Sabo walked over and sat next to Luffy and Ace, wrapping his arms around both of them. Luffy shook his head. He wouldn't leave them. Even if he was unable to share much of his feelings and views with them, Luffy couldn't imagine ever leaving them for someone else, fellow dragon or not.

"We'd be broken without you," Sabo said quietly. Luffy frowned deeply, but tightened his hold around both of his brothers. "We love you."

Luffy rubbed his face against Sabo's and then Ace's, his way of showing he loved them too.

"We'll fix you, no matter what," Ace whispered. Luffy nodded, eyes watery and hoping his brothers never thought he'd leave them for one of his own. He saw Ace and Sabo as his family, dragon or human, it didn't matter. These two were his family, his only family. Luffy's first family was gone forever, but he'd always be with his current brothers. They each had had a family that left them. Ace didn't remember his, Luffy's had died in front of him, and Sabo's shunned him. They were three pieces of three separate broken families, and that made their bond stronger than anything.

-x-

Marco stood outside of closed bedroom door, hand raised to knock, but only staying an inch away from the door. He heard most of the conversation, but not the parts if Luffy had spoken. He had a sad smile on his face, an expression he rarely wore. He could see why Ace and Sabo felt like this.

It was still hard to remember sometimes that Luffy is a dragon, not human, and his brothers were a completely different species. So they had to have unique problems in the relationship. Usually, Luffy can't speak to them, and even now, he barely did so at all. The troubles between being human and dragon must be very different than the problems Marco had with his own adoptive siblings.

But still, even though they had trouble understanding each other, which was just made clear, they were incredibly close. Even though things might be easier with Luffy as a human, the two still wanted him to be a dragon again. They wanted Luffy to be happy, even if they could have talked with him again, or hold him.

More than ever now, Marco wanted to help them. His resolve hardened. No matter what anyone says, Marco will help Luffy return back to normal. Whether he must leave his family temporarily, it was his mission to bring the dragon back to himself. Marco wanted to see a truly happy Luffy, and he knew the only way for that was for the dragon to be in his real form.

Not trapped in a human body. A weak, small and vulnerable body. Marco would help them no matter what it took. Even if it took him leaving his family on his own quest. Though, he knew Pops would support him in this, and wanted to help them as well. No matter if his siblings strongly disliked Luffy, who was truly doing his best to salvage the situation he was thrust into.

Marco waited a moment before knocking on the door. Sabo opened the door, surprisingly composed when Marco had just heard him crying. He was as good a liar as ever. "Yes?" he asked, voice steady and strong, not showing any weakness. Marco wondered what his story was. How the three met. He was more curious than ever now, wondering how their bond grew so strong.

"Lunch is ready," Marco said. "And I'll clear out the bathroom for you after you're done eating so Luffy can wash off the sea water." Sabo nodded and thanked him.

"I'll be back in a minute," Sabo said to his brothers, who were both facing away, not as composed as Sabo was. Marco walked with him to the galley, where many were staring at him. The word of Luffy's fall had spread around, and now made everyone even more suspicious. And Marco knew many wanted them gone. He would hate that, but could see those that made the connection were not happy with Sabo.

After this time, it was clear as day that it was no coincidence that dragons had started plaguing the ship after the three boarded. No one had made the connection yet that Luffy _was_ a dragon, but they were getting closer. That big dragon had very clearly only come for Luffy. Why would it leave after Luffy fell in? And the commanders finally thought that Luffy was the cause, and these repeated incidents with dragons approaching him and not harming had easily shown what Marco and the three had been trying to hide.

Something was different about Luffy, and not just that he had poor control over a zoan devil fruit. And word about Teach getting bit by him had spread. And not by the man himself, who was embarrassed about a little kid biting him and leaving a mark. A nurse had let it slip to one of the patients, and it spread around, much to Marco's worry and Teach's intense irritation. After that, Luffy was even less likable, and Marco thought it was a shame. After all, the small snippets of affection that Marco had seen him give towards his brothers made him seem like a completely different person/dragon.

Marco thought the only way anyone would like Luffy would be if they knew _why_ he acted in such a way. Why he was hostile, defensive, and so easy to offend. And why he was now avoiding everyone on the ship but his brothers and sometimes Marco.

Sabo and Marco both got Ace and Luffy's dinner, Luffy's the same as always, only this time if was a plate of bloody pieces of steak and sushi. Thatch was worried he was shaken after falling into the water instead of happy. After all, Marco had seen the smile he'd had after getting out of the water.

The phoenix zoan could only imagine how breathtaking it had been to be safe in Grand Line waters, a beautiful and massive dragon swimming around you. For anyone but Luffy, it would have been terrifying. Scratch that- any _human_ would find it terrifying.

When Sabo left the room, he did his best to ignore the stares and suspicion aimed towards him. Marco was also being glared for keeping the secret and being the one to insist they keep the brats on. Even if Luffy hadn't been around anyone in almost a week, it still didn't excuse his earlier behavior, which he never apologized for. He hadn't apologized to Teach either, not that the man would accept it. He didn't need an apology, just wished everyone would forget about the whole thing.

The two brought the food back to the room that they rarely stayed in anymore, and Marco left when Sabo gave him a grateful nod. "After you eat, you can go ahead and use the showers," the man said before leaving the room.

When Marco made it back to the table to eat his own food, he was met with frowns. "What?" he asked.

"It's getting really annoying with you favoring near strangers instead of telling your family the truth," Izo snapped. Marco sighed and sat down. He looked to Whitebeard, not knowing what to say.

"Sons, we know it's frustrating, but keeping the secret is to protect the lives of our guests," Whitebeard said, just loud enough for those near to hear. The words shocked the responses out of the commanders' mouths. It was a dramatic way to say it, but that was the gist of the situation.

Thatch had just arrived with his own food, dinner all cooked and waiting for pirates to come get seconds or thirds. "You mean, telling us the truth could get the brats killed?" Izo asked in shock.

"Possibly," Whitebeard replied. The others frowned, but backed off. Marco knew they were painfully curious and didn't like the brothers - Luffy especially - much, but none of them wished for the three to _die._

Thatch frowned at his food, picking at it with his fork, and suddenly not all of the commanders had an appetite anymore. Marco sighed. "It's not that we don't trust you. We know none of you would purposefully kill those three, but not everybody on this ship would approve of having the trio here if they knew the truth."

Vista spoke up, surprising everybody. He was usually quiet and followed orders, no matter what they were. He was one of the most loyal of the commanders, being one of them to be on the crew the longest. Third to Marco and Jozu. "You mean the fact that Luffy endangers the entire ship and crew due to the strange attraction dragons have to him?"

Marco was struck speechless. Whitebeard was surprised as well, but got his bearings quickly. "More than that. But that is part of the reason."

"Luffy isn't a zoan-"

" _Vista,"_ Whitebeard said sharply, surprising the man. "We will not talk about that here." Other crew members had been listening in and looked confused from their tables. Vista suddenly looked worried, as many people had been listening and he'd just said something important, and Whitebeard rebuking him on saying it aloud made it loud and clear that this was a sensitive subject.

The meal was eaten in silence at the commander's table, and until Thatch gathered the dishes, no one spoke. Once everything was cleaned up, Whitebeard said, "Meeting. Ten minutes from now in the meeting room." The man turned to Marco. "Don't tell the kids." Marco nodded once, disagreeing but knowing Pops often knew better than he did and Marco trusted his decisions completely.

Some of the commanders left to go to the bathroom first, not knowing how long the impromptu meeting was going to be. Marco went straight to the meeting room, following Whitebeard's quick pace.

When everyone was in the room, Marco closed and locked the heavy door behind the last one to enter, and sat down to the right of the captain. Everyone waited quietly, most staring at Vista, who looked worried if he'd said something he really shouldn't have. Whitebeard looked at him, though Vista didn't feel any anger. Expectancy, maybe.

"Continue what you were going to say, son," the captain said, though in his warm voice. He wasn't angry, but was serious. He had said this secret was to protect the trio's lives, but no one understood what that meant besides Marco, Whitebeard and possibly Vista, who had connected at least some of the dots.

"Luffy isn't a zoan fruit user. I've been skeptical about that from the start, and now even more since he was in the ocean but didn't drown. But, that doesn't explain the dragons flocking us now, interacting with Luffy more than anyone else. There's something off about him, but I can't put my finger on it," Vista explained. "The way he acts is unnatural, and I know Izo said he might have some sort of disability, but I don't agree with that. There's just something about him that's almost unnatural." Then he looked at Pops directly. "I trust your decision, whatever it was, but keeping it a secret from the commanders just divides us and makes us angry."

A few of the others nodded, they were indeed angry and divided about being kept in the dark. Whitebeard sighed, and Marco knew that he agreed with Vista's words. "I will tell you what we've been keeping secret, but _no one_ will leak this information, and if I find out any of you has, there will be punishment," he said strongly. The rest of the commanders eyebrows furrowed, not knowing what would be so important that he would threaten them if anyone spilled it.

"Marco, you know the most," Whitebeard said. Then he addressed the others. "Please do not hold it against Marco for keeping the secret." The others nodded cautiously, and Marco began explaining Luffy's story. And that he was actually a dragon cursed by a witch into a human body. That was why they were going to the New World again, cutting their vacation shorter than planned; to take Luffy to the only credible witch the crew knew.

"That's why he growls? And is always angry," Thatch said. "And why he likes raw meat instead of my delicious cooking!"

Marco nodded. "Luffy's not just a little asshole. He's a dragon, and even if before recently we'd never even seen a dragon in person, we know they are extremely prideful. How do you think Luffy feels being talked down to if he's a dragon?" Marco prompted.

Izo shrunk down in shame. He had been short with Luffy about his behavior, but it was perfectly natural for Luffy to feel this way. "Why didn't you tell us? We would have made things a lot easier for him," Izo said. Marco looked at him somewhat coldly.

"Does that look like how the rest feel?" he asked harshly. Izo flinched and looked around. Many of the commanders looked outraged with letting a _dragon,_ temporarily in human form or not, onto their ship.

"We can't have him on here," Kingdew boomed. "He already attacked one of our men. He bit Teach. He's a wild animal, we can't have such a liability on the crew," the angry commander insisted.

"Kingdew! Luffy is not a wild animal, he's a dragon and he deserves respect," Thatch shouted. Marco was surprised by his reaction. "Has he tried to eat any of us?" the cook pressed. It turned into a shouting match, and Marco looked at Whitebeard in an almost angry way. It would have been better to keep it a secret.

Haruta joined the argument and the room was more out of control than ever before, Pops boomed out, "SILENCE!" It shocked everyone into silence. "Is this how we operate? Shouting at one another instead of talking like the civilized leaders we are supposed to be on this ship?" He sounded incredibly disappointed, and many of the commanders' faces turned red in shame and embarrassment at how they'd lost control. "We will talk about this in a civilized manner. No one will shout at one another. Am I clear?" The rest nodded, and quieted down in their seats.

Marco spoke, "Haven't you noticed that none of the curious dragons have harmed anyone? We had the massive one tailing us for almost a week and it did nothing. It could have easily destroyed our ship, and yet all it did was bump into us to try and see Luffy. And after it did, it left peacefully."

The others had no argument. "Dragons have been boarding this ship for the past week almost nightly. Yet no one has been hurt or attacked."

"Luffy attacked Teach," Rayuko pointed out.

"And how hurt was Teach after that? Luffy bit him with a child's jaw. He's no danger to us. He can barely hold a spoon, yet he's going to hurt someone with a gun or sword? Luffy is practically helpless and less of a danger to our crew than our captain accidentally sitting on someone," Marco said, earning booming laughter from said captain.

"Besides, Teach called Luffy a name. Teach isn't the smartest guy, so even if Luffy _was_ in dragon form, he'd probably _still_ call him a name and then get in a fight. Luffy had been living alongside two humans for most of his life, yet neither of them has ever been attacked."

Izo raised his hand. "I've seen Ace and Sabo shirtless. They had scars all over their bodies, but they didn't look like bite marks."

"Luffy has probably been helping them with those. Dragon saliva has healing properties," Marco said, actually using the knowledge he'd gotten from that book for something helpful. "And now, Luffy is hiding himself away from everyone so he doesn't act out and ruin his chance of being restored back to normal."

Those who were opposed to Luffy on the crew continued to look sour, their opinion is not changing. "And what was the reason a witch turned on him and why can't they just go back to that witch?" Fossa asked grumpily.

Marco frowned. "Well firstly, they can't go back because their entire home island caught on fire. I don't know why Luffy was cursed but Sabo fought back a little too hard and she was unable to reverse the curse."

"So Sabo, the most civil one of the three it seems, killed the witch," Kingdew stated. Many of the commanders gave him deadpanned looks.

"We're pirates, how many people have we each killed?" Thatch demanded. Kingdew had no response but to glare, and Marco and Whitebeard didn't like what they were seeing. Everyone was turning hostile at each other. It saddened Whitebeard and worried Marco.

"Why don't we take a vote on whether to keep them or not?" Fossa asked. The captain shut that down real quick.

He frowned at his son, and said, "We will not kick off three kids because one of them was cursed by a witch. Have you thought about how Luffy feels? Have any of you considered what he must feel being in his number one enemy's form? How do you think he feels with his fellow dragons seeing him like this? How do you think he feels about being unable to control his body? Have you considered how absolutely miserable he is, and now has to hide to make sure he doesn't piss anyone off by behaving like he _should,_ as a dragon?" This quieted down the room. Those who weren't opposed to Luffy being on the ship, at least while in human form, felt pity and sympathy for the boy.

"Hey, is this why you keep acting weird with Luffy, Marco?" Haruta suddenly brought up. Marco nodded.

"I asked them how best to interact with Luffy without offending him. Showing submission helps a lot with talking to him," Marco replied honestly. A few of the commanders looked appalled by that. "All I do is glance down, like you would bow your head to someone you recognize stronger than you. The only one he doesnt feel himself should be above it Pops."

"So, he thinks he's above all of us? He hates humans, doesn't he? He even called us stupid to Izo's face." It was Curiel this time that tried to smear Luffy's name. Marco frowned deeply, hating arguing with his brothers.

"Humans hunted and killed his family. Of course he thinks lowly of us," Marco replied harshly. "Ace found him while he was running for his life, his baby siblings all murdered." This shut up the protesters to Luffy's presence. It irked Marco slightly that they were only smearing Luffy, and would accept Ace and Sabo. It was almost like they were discriminating Luffy because he wasn't human. The thought made Marco glance to Namur, who might know how Luffy would be feeling.

"Remember how many of you protested Namur?" Marco asked darkly, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "And let's ask him, Namur? Do you feel threatened by Luffy? Do you feel threatened by a dragon, since he's more likely to eat you than any human?"

Namur frowned. "No, dragons aren't inherently violent. As someone who has almost been attacked on accident, they are not man eaters. I don't feel any sort of threat from Luffy. I know what it's like to be discriminated against for not being human. It feels like shit, in case you were wondering." A few of the commanders had the decency to look guilty, but they still stuck by their opinions.

The commanders were successfully divided. Haruta, Thatch, Izo, Namur, Vista, Jozu and Marco were on one side, while the rest were on the other. Marco couldn't remember any issue that stirred this much animosity and disagreement. Even making Namur a commander hadn't caused this big of a divide, and that had been a hot mess.

"We're not kicking the boys off this ship," Whitebeard said forcefully. "Unless Luffy somehow eats one of us or tells a dragon to attack this ship and crew, they are not being kicked off. We are a crew of our word, and we are not going to take back the reassurances that I and Marco gave to three homeless refugees. It's not like we can take them back to their home island. Their home island is gone, they have lost everything and I will _not_ take away their hope, too." Marco couldn't remember another time in the last ten years that Whitebeard had gotten so forceful at a meeting.

"You are all going to treat Luffy with respect. I will not have one of our leaders demean a child and make him feel unwanted, or even unsafe. Even if Luffy is originally a dragon, he is still a child," the captain stressed. "You are dismissed."

The commanders filed out, grumpy and glaring at each other. Marco shared a concerned look with Whitebeard, who massaged his temples. Well, that was a mess.


	9. A Big Problem On Both Ends

**Just finished editing another story that's gonna be super long and a roller coaster of emotion and horror and action and angst and fluff. Go check it out if you want. It's called "A Black Heart Does Not Always Stay Black" and features a jaded Luffy. Anyways, this chapter lays the feels on you hard. Enjoy~**

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Luffy, Ace and Sabo sat in the room, waiting for Marco to come get them. It had been over an hour since he last left, and Luffy was feeling itchy and crusty, even if he'd only been in the water for a few seconds before he was safe in the bubble. He was still excited about that encounter, but felt bad for it as it had made his brothers feel less important.

Finally, Marco knocked on the door and Sabo opened it. The commander was looking tired and stressed. "Are you okay?" Sabo asked in concern. Marco had seemed just fine before, and now he looked like he hadn't slept in days. What had happened in the last hour or so?

"The commanders know now. They are not to tell anyone else, but we are very divided on the issue at hand," Marco answered honestly. It made the brothers worried, but also trusting that Marco was telling them the truth. Ace pulled Luffy to his chest in a protective manner. "They may have disagreed, but the captain's word is law and he is adamant that we take you to the witch to make things right again."

Luffy felt shame well up inside of him. He was trying so hard, too, not to be hostile. Had he ruined everything? He shrunk into Ace's chest, hiding his red face. Had he gotten them all in trouble? First, he had been useless in getting them away from the fire, and now he was going to get them kicked off of their temporary safe haven.

Ace rubbed Luffy's back comfortingly. The boy was sure he was going to be treated like a freak even more now. Well, it was good he was refusing to see anyone anymore. Marco lead them to the single bathroom that was open and empty, the one they had used the first day.

The dragon was distant during the bath, doing his best to wash his own hair, but lifting his arms was difficult. He slapped them into the water, spraying water everywhere. Ace took to washing his hair for him, while he just sat there in the middle of the bath. Sabo was frowning, but made sure it wasn't visible to Luffy.

All three of them were worried about what would happen next. Luffy was afraid of being hunted, or being the reason his brothers were kicked off of the ship. Ace and Sabo were worried about the offer being rescinded and they'd have to try and find their own witch to fix up the cursed dragon.

Luffy felt very antsy, even just sitting in the warm water. Whenever he felt like this at home, when he was normal, Ace and Sabo would see him off to go hunting. That's what he wanted. To go hunting, at night time and stalk prey and eat. Would these pirates not trust him for being a dragon? It's not like he could trust _them_ for being dirty humans.

They probably wanted to hunt him, or sell him. His scowl came, and Ace rubbed his scalp more. "No one is gonna hurt you or take you away," the freckled teen said strongly. "Or we'll fight them off. Or you could call your dragon friends."

"Wanna h'nt," Luffy said. He wanted to feel the exhilaration of catching dinner, eating most of it but saving the favorite parts for Ace and Sabo. he'd come home from his hunts feeling confident and powerful, with Ace and Sabo congratulating him and complimenting his strength. Now he was pitiful.

"Maybe we could ask for some fishing poles," Sabo offered, though they all knew it wouldn't be nearly as satisfactory. Luffy wouldn't feel any pride in himself by having a fish eat something and get caught with no effort of the dragon's part. When Luffy slumped, Ace sighed.

"Maybe we can stop on the next island and go hunting together," he offered. Sabo glared at him, but Ace ignored it. Luffy would be useless in a hunt, but Ace and Sabo could protect him. It might be stressful, but it would be fine. Ace and Sabo would never let Luffy be hurt.

Luffy shrugged but nodded his head slowly. That was as good as it was going to get. He couldn't hunt on his own like this. He put his hands up in front of his face and wiggled each finger separately, slowly but more coordinated than before. That fidget Marco had given him days ago had been good, though it got boring after awhile and became something he messed with without looking at it.

Once the water got cold, the brothers got out and dried off the fluffy towels, Luffy shivering until they put their clothes back on. Luffy's jewel necklace was put under his shirt again, the sparkly stone heavy in his clavicle, but he liked it. Sabo had estimated it as worth millions of berries. Though, even if it wasn't super expensive, it was shiny and sparkly, so he liked it and kept it close so none of the pirates could steal _his_ treasure.

The three walked down the hall and to the deck, not wanting to run into any commanders who now knew what had happened to Luffy and what he really was. Ace and Sabo were hoping, that when the truth did come out (much faster than expected), people would be understanding and do their best to treat Luffy like what he was: a prideful and powerful dragon, even if he was weak and helpless now.

They had been wrong apparently. The leaders had disagreed over keeping Luffy on the ship. Before today, Luffy would have thought about leaving but keeping Ace and Sabo on the crew for their safety, since Luffy couldn't fly anymore, but after their episode earlier, Luffy knew they would never agree to that and would follow Luffy anywhere. So he really hoped he didn't screw them over with his attitude. He'd been doing good for almost a week, so surely that had to count for something?

When they reached the back deck, the three were startled to see a small dragon suddenly appear. It had been invisible, but now approached the three. It was the size of a small dog, with large wings for its size, curled up to its side.

Luffy picked it up, knowing none of the dragons would hurt him and were smart enough to know Luffy was not truly a human. Ace and Sabo were brave enough to touch it. It narrowed its eyes distrustfully at first, but when Luffy gave it a reassuring smile, it relaxed and let the other two fully human teens pet it.

It's scales were softer than Luffy's had been. His had been hard and the scales rough, making it painful to rub against their skin. Though they never told Luffy this. They were surprised to have the small dragon squirm before heading to the corner, where it looked at the railing before another, bigger version of itself appeared. It was a parent and baby, the baby very curious.

The three looked at the parent and baby with a smile before both flew away, turning invisible once again as they got further. That was when Luffy started sobbing. Ace and Sabo jerked to attention, not knowing what was the matter, but going to hug him and shush him softly. Then it clicked for Ace. Luffy had never seen a family of dragons before, after his own was murdered. It had been ten years, and the two brothers had never known it was still so raw for him.

Or was made raw again by being around so many humans _and_ dragons. It worried Ace and Sabo, though they felt guilty for being upset that their brother missed his dead family. Sabo didn't know how it felt to love your own family and Ace couldn't remember his.

Every time Luffy thought of his family, he felt hate for humans. He couldn't help it, even if Marco was nice. Even if Ace and Sabo were technically humans, he never considered them as such. But Luffy hating humans was what made him so hostile, and was what made some of the commanders want them gone.

Luffy calmed down after a couple minutes of sobbing his new human heart out. His face was puffy and red and he felt weak and pitiful, not wanting any of the other humans to see him like this. So, he sat facing the railing with Ace and Sabo behind him so no one could see his teary face.

"M'ss mama," Luffy muttered. "Luf mama."

Ace and Sabo rubbed his back softly. "We know," Ace said gently.

"Br'k pr'ms to her," Luffy spoke again. "Say no ofr r'd w'll."

"She said not to go to the Red Line?" Sabo clarified. He knew more about the world due to his fascination with facts back when he was noble in the small city back on their home island. Luffy nodded. "Because it's more dangerous in the New World? More dragon hunters and stronger humans?" Luffy nodded again.

"Well, once you're back to normal we can just fly back to Paradise. It'll all work out," Ace insisted, sounding like he really believed it. "Whitebeard and Marco want us to stay, so we'll stay. Surely they wouldn't go against both their father and captain." Sabo nodded, too. Luffy couldn't help but feel jealous of their optimism. Usually Luffy was an optimist, but he'd changed so much after being cursed.

Now, he was unlikable and rude. Sure, he wasn't like that to Ace and Sabo, but did that mean he was just a bad dragon? Testy and hostile. While all of these beautiful other dragons never were angry with him or attacked the other humans on the ship. Luffy was a disgrace, and lowered his head in shame.

"S'rry I ch'ng," the dragon said very quietly. He wished he could communicate in another way with his brothers, not liking speaking. When he was in dragon form, he never had to explain his feelings because they were static, and mostly were conveyed through smiling and glaring. Now, he had much more varied emotions due to the negativity of the whole situation.

"Everyone changes a bit through hard times, but things will go back to normal once we change you back. We still love you no matter if you are grumpier now," Sabo stressed. Luffy rubbed his face on Sabo's shoulder. The teen smiled, both of them did, at the little snippets they got of the old Luffy.

Sabo and Ace turned around when they heard footsteps, clearly purposefully loud. It was Izo, and he had a frown on. Sabo and Ace both furrowed their brows, worried. Why was someone who didn't like them coming over out of his way? There was nothing where the brothers stayed.

"I came to apologize to Luffy," Izo said in a strong voice. Luffy turned around, surprise on his face. "Now that I know the truth, I want to apologize for being snippy and sarcastic. And demeaning. I know it was wrong to treat you like that considering your situation."

Luffy was watching him with wide and surprised eyes. Izo did what Marco had been doing and glanced down before making eye contact once again. Luffy blinked at it, surprised that Izo, someone Luffy knew liked him the least, was being so respectful and sounding sincere.

"It's not just me who is sorry, but the others are busy. So I'm sorry on their behalf, too. I mean it," Izo insisted. Luffy nodded once in acknowledgment. "I want you to know that not all humans are bad. Many are, and selfish, but not all. Like Thatch. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body, and wants to make you comfortable, and now understands why you hate his food. He's actually glad it's nothing personal. So, please don't look down on all of us the same." Luffy nodded again and Izo gave a small smile before leaving.

Though, when Ace went inside to get food, Luffy napping outside in Sabo's lap, at dinner time, Ace didn't get friendly reactions. They were worse than they had been before, and mostly from many of the commanders. They glared at him, and he glared back. When he got the huge pile of very rare steak, blood from it dribbled over the top. They looked at it in disgust and Ace just sneered at them all, not appreciating the attitude.

You'd think they'd be more understanding now that they knew why Luffy acted so aggressive. You'd think grown men would make the connection that he was nervous and scared, also in the added stress of not being himself. Ace didn't like these pirates at all, but didn't comment and left the galley with the food, balancing the plates perfectly in both arms.

"Lu, dinner time. Thatch made it extra bloody for you," Ace said, trusting that the cook wouldn't feed Luffy something that would make him sick. Luffy woke up, yawning, and then grinned at the steak dripping with blood. He ate them quickly, then moving to the little container of anchovies. Luffy had never had these fish, but they were whole. With the crunchy bones and head and everything.

He popped them in his mouth like candy, enjoying the crunch of the bones. Ace and Sabo didn't think it was gross, and were happy for him. Now that Thatch knew why Luffy hated his usual food, he'd made Luffy's meal even more similar to his dragon's meals. Though they knew part of the reason Luffy liked his old food so much was that he got to hunt it first. It wasn't just fed to him. He had been an apex predator, like all dragons.

Sleeping that night was difficult due to worry about being kicked off of the ship, but all three of them eventually slipped into sleep. A few water dragons climbed up the side of the ship, tiny ones the size of fish, and settled on top of Luffy. He woke up from one of them wrapping its tail around his throat when it napped.

Luffy panicked for a second at the pressure, but realizing it wasn't a human choking him, and seeing he was covered in tiny dragons, he easily drifted back to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, they were gone, and Luffy would have thought he'd dreamt it if it hadn't been that one of the dragons had wet itself on his white shirt, leaving a little yellow puddle.

He almost laughed at it, something he hadn't done in a long time, but he didn't want to wake his brothers. It was very early in the morning, and he relaxed on their holds, looking up at the gray clouds. Was it going to rain? They hadn't been in a big storm in a week, since that really bad one. Luffy had thought that storms happened all the time on these seas. His mama had told the babies to be careful once they grew enough to visit other islands if they wished due to unpredictable storms.

When it started raining and getting windy, both teens woke up, and all three reluctantly went inside. They didn't want to get washed off of the ship, and passed pirates preparing for the storm, bolting things down and furling the many sails. None of them really paid attention to the three as they were busy.

The wind used to not bother Luffy but now it was freezing and painful. Stupid human skin. Ace, Sabo and Luffy went to their room they never used anymore, and changed clothes. Ace laughed at the pee stain on Luffy's shirt when he simply said dragons slept on him. It was a light hearted moment, but then the ship tilted, and Luffy tumbled to the side, caught by Ace as they both hit the wall hard. Luffy cried out in pain, not used to being injured like this.

His scales used to be so hard that no blunt force object or sharp weapon could penetrate his skin or leave bruises. He grumbled when Ace asked if he was injured, and shook his head. Though he knew he'd have a stupid bruise on his arm from that.

When the ship righted itself, Ace and Sabo decided it was unsafe for them to carry plates of food to the room with the ship being tossed around like this, and they were each very hungry. So, they were able to convince Luffy to come with them, though he was reluctant to say the least.

The three entered the galley only to see there was no plates laid out on the table, everyone had boxes with their food in them, so that they didn't spill so easily. Sabo thought it was very smart. After all, in a storm like this, food would be flying everywhere if it was just left on a table.

Luffy's box had his name on it, not that he recognized it as he couldn't read and had no reason to know how to spell his name as he couldn't write with his normal hands anyways. It had raw fish with the tiny fish that Luffy munched on happily. He ignored any gazes he was given as he took his boxed breakfast, with Ace and Sabo having theirs with blueberry pancakes and eggs, back to their room, since it was storming outside.

Ace and Sabo frowned under the gaze of almost everyone. Marco had said only the commanders knew about Luffy not being human or a zoan. Why was everyone else looking at him suspiciously. Luffy bit the bullet and didn't challenge any of them, which was extremely difficult and hard to resist making sure they all knew he didn't appreciate the looks.

"We need to talk to Marco," Sabo said once they reached their room. "Or the captain. _Everyone_ is looking at Luffy like they know. And he hasn't done anything to warrant glares in a week. Luffy, you've been very well behaved and we're proud of you, so why are they all acting angry at us?" He was frustrated as he ate pancakes and Luffy stared at his food in his lap.

He wasn't very hungry anymore, and put the lid on top of it, clusmily holding the box with both arms and setting it on the bed next to him. He sulked and curled into a ball, something powerful dragons didn't do. Ace was suddenly worried that making him suppress his dragon urges had been a mistake. It wasn't natural for Luffy to act like this. "We'll talk to Marco soon," the freckled teen said finally.

Luffy eventually ate his food, but it was slow and he wasn't enjoying it, even with the juicy rare steak. He stared at the food, wishing it would at least move a little. Even if he only hit it dead, he would still have gotten his own prey, not fed to be a human, like some pet. Luffy was _not_ happy. More grumpy than he had been for days. He just wanted to sleep.

When he curled up and crawled under the blankets, the brothers decided Luffy didn't need to hear the truth of whatever the problem was first hand. "Luffy, why don't you stay here and nap and we'll go talk to Marco?" Ace offered.

The dragon didn't particularly want to be separated from his brothers, but he didn't want to be glared at by humans. And he didn't want to seem weak by not responding or fighting back against the disrespect. But, the boy nodded, and Sabo took his leftovers and the empty boxes while he and Ace left the room, which was very quiet besides the waves hitting the ship and swaying it very lightly.

After Ace and Sabo left the room, they walked to the galley to return the boxes to the kitchen and find Marco to ask what the deal was with everyone. Luffy turned on his side, facing the wall. If he had his dragon senses, he would have woken up by people entering the room besides his brothers, but he was asleep and the sound of the storm outside lulled him to deep sleep.

When Luffy woke up it was due to the door closing loudly. And he was sure Ace and Sabo had already closed that door. He sleepily turned over but then jumped up when he saw it was three pirates he didn't recognize. But, it wasn't surprising since there were over a thousand humans on this crew.

They were each glaring at him, and Luffy adopted a snarl. "You know, everyone thought you were affected by a zoan fruit. Until one of our commanders said that you weren't." Luffy growled, but didn't know where this was going and wanted away from bigger humans that outnumbered him. He growled to hide his fear. Embarrassing fear. They were just humans! Luffy was better than them!

"So that means you're just some rabid brat. And since no one is doing anything about the fact that you attacked one of our crew, we're here to make sure you don't do it again," the biggest human of the three said. Luffy's brows furrowed as his eyes narrowed, wanting someone to come in and beat these humans for their disrespect and threats.

"Leaf alone!" Luffy snarled.

"You sound like a retard," the smaller of the three said, though he was still bigger than Luffy, who was the size of a ten year old. Luffy snarled and kicked at them when one tried to grab him. "Rabid little retard that should be put down for your blatant disrespect to our crew and commanders. They could wipe the floor with you, yet they don't! It doesn't make sense!"

But, Luffy was no longer paying attention to them, he was instead trapped in a memory. He was little again, and in the jungle. He and his fellow hatchlings stumbled around, running next to their much, much bigger mother, fleeing from humans with big sticks that shot smelly metal balls at them. Luffy's sister fumbled over a branch, and Luffy turned back to help her up while their mother shouted at them to hurry, her voice echoing in their minds.

The four babies were panting heavily as their little legs worked harder than ever before. "Put the babies down, we don't need those ones!" a human shouted, making their mother stop and turn around to snarl menacingly. No one threatens her babies! The humans stopped chasing, but one doubled around behind them and shot down Luffy's sister, making the three remaining babies shriek and hide against their mother, not knowing their sibling had died. She wasn't moving, so she had to be sleeping.

Mama roared loudly, in anguish and anger as her tail whipped around hard enough to decapitate the human that had killed one of her babies. The other three were trembling against a boulder, huddled in a pile.

Mama was shot in the left eye, causing her to roar in pain and tell her babies to flee further into the forest. But, once they were out of cover of the boulder and running again, the remaining humans that had not been the one to shoot the mother dragon's eye shot one more baby. And then another, and all that was left was Luffy. Mama howled in anguish, but she still had one baby left to protect. Big tears were coming out of her slitted blue eyes. Luffy shook and burrowed under a log, but mama picked him up in her mouth and tried running with him, desperate to protect her baby.

She was shot in the leg and then the back, a net thrown around her legs to trip her up. But once again, her tail was what killed the men, the spikes on the end slashing open the stomachs of the men.

Luffy pawed at his brothers and sister, trying to wake them, but then mama stopped moving, without saying even a word of goodbye. And Luffy was all alone. But the flashback seemed to reverse itself and Luffy was cowering in front of three of the humans, now trapped between the memory and reality.

When he was grabbed, his did the only thing he could think of in his hazy mind and launched off the bed at the shortest man grabbing his head hard and tearing his ear off with his teeth. The man screamed and Luffy found the taste of human blood disgusting. The man screamed in pain as his ear bled, and Luffy spit the appendage out and slammed his fist into the bigger man's crotch, knowing that hurt his brothers. He wished they would come.

A sword was drawn and slashed Luffy's arm. He shook as he was shocked by the injury, looking down to see blood coming from _him._ Luffy had _never_ bled before and screamed. Suddenly, there was a crack in the wall of the ship as a dragon's head forced its way in, water spilling inside.

The three men started screaming at the sight of the dragon as Luffy was grabbed around the middle and pulled through the hole by a huge and webbed green hand. Luffy thrashed in the water as he was pulled away from the ship, unable to breathe but still hurting in the arm.

The dragon did what the previous one had and trapped Luffy in a bubble. This dragon was nowhere near as big as the first dragon to pull him in the water. Luffy was hyperventilating before the dragon stuck its muzzle into the bubble and likced the wound, clotting it so the blood stopped.

Luffy watched in shock as water flowed inside the bedroom. The ship was going to sink! Luffy shouted at the dragon, "No hole!" The dragon looked at him skeptically. "Brothers! No h'rt!"

The dragon swam back to the ship and pressed a hand against the hole, stopping the water. It kept the hole covered as its finger penetrated the surface and pulled the wood back inwards to stymie the flooding.

Luffy was in so much trouble. They were gonna kill him. We're gonna kill Ace and Sabo. Luffy ruined everything. This all started because he ate a damn horse.


	10. After the Attack

**Elsa: To be honest, I love making my readers cry. ;)**

**Lordpillee: You will get some answers in this chapter. I'm glad you think it's super interesting!**

**Samster7241: Stupid horse indeed. Stupid witch for not keeping it closer to the house.**

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Ace and Sabo were asking Marco about why everyone was glaring at Luffy like they knew he was something bad when Marco grew pale as he felt something coming towards the ship at incredible speed, and then the whole ship jolted once Marco and many others heard screaming and the sound of cracking wood.

The three ran to where the screaming was coming from and found water filling the room Luffy had been sleeping in. Three men were in there, but no Luffy. There was a huge hole in the wall, and they watched as a scaly and webbed finger was thrust into the wall and pulled it outward. The hole closed mostly but they were still taking on water.

"LUFFY! WHERE'S LUFFY?!" Ace and Sabo boomed. Marco observed the three men, seeing they were the more aggressive ones. One had a weapon drawn that had blood on the tip, and another was bleeding profusely from the head where an ear _should_ have been.

Ace and Sabo ran out of the room and to try and get on deck, but it was storming outside, so Marco stopped them and at the same time shouted, "What the hell did you do?!" to the three men, who were trying to stop the water flooding in.

But it wasn't time for him to get angry, they needed to patch the wall. Marco threw Ace and Sabo to the side as he flew down the halls, shouting that the ship was taking on water, where it was, and that they needed to stop it.

Everyone reacted quickly, and not too long after Marco's calls for help, pirates were carrying planks of wood and supplies down the halls. The three men, who had done something very bad, whatever caused this, were shaking, but helped patch the wall. The shipwrights weren't inexperienced, and soon the wall looked like any wooden wall. It wasn't haphazard or messy in any way, and the water flow stopped completely, though water was still all over the floor and sloshing down the hall into other rooms.

Ace and Sabo were still shouting about Luffy as Jozu held them in one place, despite the kicks and bites to his arm to try and find their brother, who was nowhere on the ship, meaning he was outside the ship, in the storm, or still in the water.

When the three men came out of the room, shaking head to foot while everyone else was more up to their waists, Marco grabbed the bleeding one's face, and demanded to know what had happened. "What the fuck happened in there?!" Marco demanded. The bleeding one was crying over the pain in his ear, which was missing entirely. But Marco and the two teens were more concerned over Luffy.

"W-We just went in to teach that brat a lesson for hurting Teach and he bit James's ear off! Then a giant hand burst into the room after he started screaming and took the kid out!" Marco punched him in the face.

"You moron!" he bellowed. Marco got up and flew down the halls, looking for Namur, who was running on his way, coming from another part of the ship. "Namur! Get outside and look for Luffy!"

"Luffy?! He's in the water?!" Because why else would it be Namur to go if it wasn't because the kid was in the ocean? But, before he got an answer, he sprinted out of the ship and onto deck, jumping into the stormy waters, something that was very stupid to do on any other day. For any other reason, but one of their guests was in the Grand Line waters, during a storm.

When he plunged into the water, he saw Luffy, seeming alive, and sobbing in a bubble in the hand of a water dragon, who turned its sharp gaze to Namur and bared its teeth after staring at Luffy in concern.

Namur raised his hands slightly and bowed his head, knowing what to do in the presence of a dragon. The beast didn't attack him, but looked wary and gripped Luffy's bubble tightly, making Namur worry it would pop and the boy would drown. Even if Luffy had originally been a dragon, it didn't guarantee he was a water dragon and definitely didn't guarantee he could breathe underwater in his current form.

"Luffy, your brothers are worried about you," Namur said clearly, the water not affecting the sound of his voice being clear and sharp. He cautiously swam forward until he was right outside the bubble, which had suddenly become too thick for him to pass through. This water dragon may not be killing Namur, but it wasn't trusting and was protecting Luffy.

The fishman looked to the side briefly to see the hole in the ship, the wood splintered on the outside, but thankfully not sucking water into the ship anymore. Luffy looked up at the fishman, and looked relieved to see him. Maybe because he wasn't a human. "Luffy, what happened?" Namur asked calmly, despite the fear he was feeling of being under the gaze of the suspicious water dragon. He'd never been so close to one, almost touching its hand as it held Luffy's bubble.

"B-Bad hoomins. T'tack m-me," Luffy trembled. "No go b'ck." The poor kid started repeating the three words over and over again, and Namur saw the red and swollen cut on Luffy's arm, as well as some of the blood around his mouth. He had bitten someone, most likely his attacker. But why on earth had any of his crew decided to turn to violence on the child?!

"Did the dragon save you?" Namur asked, incredibly patient with the dragon child. Luffy nodded his head. He was shaking like he was having a seizure. "What did the bad humans try to do?" he questioned slowly. He could hear Luffy fine through the bubble, which slowly thinned as the water dragon deemed that Namur wasn't going to attack his fellow dragon.

"P-Put me d'wn," Luffy shuddered. Namur's gaze hardened. He felt remorse for the boy, having been attacked by humans before, too, also being told he should be put down. Namur looked to the dragon with permission before slowly entering the bubble, which widened to accommodate him. He put his hand on Luffy's back, and crouched down next to him.

"Why don't we go back to your brothers?" Namur asked gently. "I'm sure they are concerned." The water dragon growled, the sound reverberating through the water loudly.

"No! K-Kill me an' brothers," Luffy shouted, shaking his head adamantly. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he curled into a ball and held his hands over his ears. The dragon cooed sadly, the sound much softer than the growl.

"No one will kill you or your brothers," Namur said strongly, but also softly.

"B-bit ear," Luffy whispered, and Namur assumed that's why there was blood in the corners of Luffy's trembling lips. Namur stressed that it sounded like self-defense if someone threatened him. Luffy nodded. "And did you ask for your dragon friend to come get you?"

Luffy shook his head. "Scream an' came f'r me," Luffy replied, growing a little less shaky by the minute.

"I'm gonna take you to your brothers, okay? We'll make sure to keep the bad humans away from you. Marco no doubt knows who they are and they will be thoroughly punished for harming our guest and being the reason our ship was damaged." His words were as soothing as he could with his rough voice. "Let's go see Ace and Sabo." Luffy nodded, wanting to see his brothers.

-x-

Luffy was terrified that he'd ruined everything. But they had come after him first, and threatened him. To kill him, put him down. And Luffy had been living in a memory he never revisited on purpose, ever. He started crying in the bubble, thinking of the deaths of his shell-mates and mama. Ace came for him but it had never reached that part in the flashback. Only the worst parts of it had come.

The dragon was reluctant to let Luffy go, but he said he wanted to see his brothers, and the dragon brought him back to the surface, which was storming. Luffy coughed out water before Namur climbed up the rope ladder with Luffy holding onto his back. The cut on his arm was painful, even if the nice water dragon had closed it up to stop the bleeding.

When Luffy got his feet on the deck, Ace and Sabo were there, slipping in the rain, and grabbed Luffy, who fought to get out of their grip for a moment before remembering they were his brothers and not more evil humans. Luffy sobbed into their embrace, still shaking, as Marco came out, heading straight to Namur, who reported the situation angrily.

Luffy winced when Sabo brushed the wound, and looked down to see the gash. Both Ace and Sabo saw red at the injury. As far as they knew, Luffy had never been cut before, not even after becoming human. Ace shared a murderous look with Sabo, who then glared at Marco, trying to share his anger at the humans who caused this whole mess.

The dragon was still next to the ship, and the brothers could see it's eyes sticking out of the water and watching them, like a crocodile would, mostly submerged with only their eyes peeking. Ace released Luffy, and walked to the side, holding onto the railing tightly even as it poured on him, and shouted, "THANK YOU! WE HAVE HIM NOW!"

The beast sank back into the water and swam away, though the three brothers didn't know if it left for good or was just waiting further away and out of view from the surface. Luffy adamantly refused to go inside, and instead wrapped his arms and legs around the railing.

When Marco tried to approach, he got growled at viciously, and no matter how many times Ace and Sabo tried to get Luffy to remember Marco was a good guy, Luffy refused the company of any human besides his brothers.

Luffy waited out the storm and his brothers finally gave up and tied themselves to the mast. Tying the rope around their waists and wrapping it around the mast so they didn't fall off or get washed away from the ship and into the dark waters. It wasn't night time, but the sky was still dark, making the water seem black. No one could see the dragon anymore.

Once the storm passed, Luffy still refused to go inside of change his clothes, even though he and his brothers were all soaking wet, Luffy from both the sea and rain, while Ace and Sabo had been victims to the violent rain.

When Whitebeard walked over, Luffy tried to flee, with Ace wrapping his arms around Luffy's waist to keep him there, not trusting that the dragon wouldn't jump overboard, or attract another dragon to try and save him by destroying the ship. Whitebeard walked in front of him, a few yards away, and did something the brothers or pirates never thought the captain would do. He got on his knees and bowed to Luffy.

It made Luffy stop struggling, but he was still suspicious, and scooted away closer to Ace and further from the big man. They had lost any and all trust that had developed between the dragon and the pirates. All because three dumbasses decided to rough him up.

The commanders and captain had been informed of Luffy and Namur's conversation, and were angry. "Luffy, those three humans will no longer be on this ship. One of our sister ships is going to come pick them up and take them away for the rest of our journey. We are still taking you to get turned back, and your attack on them was pure self defense."

"I ruin ship," Luffy said slowly.

"The ship is fine, my sons are fine shipwrights. You did not call that dragon to save you, it was its own choice," Whitebeard stressed. "Can you tell me in depth what happened? Because I think you have very different recollections of the event than the instigators. I'd like to know what happened."

Luffy didn't want to think about it. How weak he was. He may have fought back at first, but after the flashback and being cut, he'd lost all sense and just started screaming. Then the dragon burst through the wood and saved him. Dragons would always understand him more than humans. No wonder Ace and Sabo were worried about Luffy choosing dragons over them.

"I sleep. They c'm in an' mean. Remeber t'tack, an call me ret'rd an' put me d'n," Luffy explained, doing his best to sound like he could speak even if it was horrible grammar. He still wasn't used to speaking, though he was doing much better and you could basically understand him. He bristled at the memory of the humans making fun of his speech, even though he thought he'd done well so far. He didn't want to speak in the first place!

Whitebeard's face grew dark, and Luffy's story obviously sounded different than the evil humans'. They probably said Luffy attacked them without reason. The dragon didn't mention the flashback he'd been trapped in, and instead said, "Cut me an drag'n safe me."

Everyone was sure the dragon was long gone, and it made Luffy sad. The dragon had saved him. Might have damaged the ship, but it came for him when no one else did. Sabo and Ace were busy and didn't know, so he couldn't hold it against them, but Luffy wished they had come for him. How had the dragon known what was happening? Could it hear through the wood, or sense Luffy's distress?

Whatever it was, Luffy was thankful for it, even if it damaged the ship and could have possibly sunk it. Though Whitebeard was sure his shipwrights could have fixed it, and they did, but how did they get all of the water out? Did they lug buckets of water out of the ship? Luffy hoped that the water didn't damage anything.

Luffy was concerned with what all of the humans thought of him now. He'd damaged the ship and ripped the ear off of one of their crew mates. Were they mad, did they hate Luffy and take the humans' sides who hurt him? Who threatened to kill him for no other reason besides Luffy had been a brat? He was a child, why would they threaten a child?!

Sure, he'd ripped the guy's ear off, but only because he threatened him. Luffy did it in defense to keep himself safe. So, he asked, "Efryone mad?" Whitebeard sighed, and Luffy expected him to lie about it.

"We've had to tell everyone the truth, and not everyone is mad at you. Many blame the instigators, who have lost their right to sail on the main Moby Dick. Many are more understanding about your behavior after knowing what you really are. A commander will now always be on guard, though. We don't want a repeat of what happened, not that I think my sons are stupid enough to recreate that mess. Marco, Izo and Vista have volunteered to be guards, so the first shift is Izo. They won't necessarily stay right next to you, but will be close enough to monitor that no one bothers you.

"We are sorry that this happened, and do not endorse that behavior one bit. It was unacceptable and won't be tolerated," Whitebeard stressed. Luffy's eyes flicked to the side to see Izo sitting on a chair near the railing, sewing something that the brothers couldn't see.

There was nothing more to say and Whitebeard stood and walked away, saying something to Izo that the trio couldn't hear. Luffy didn't notice how ashamed the two older brothers looked. They had let Luffy get hurt, and a dragon had bested them, again it seemed. They weren't there for Luffy when he needed them most, and they'd never forgive themselves for it.

It stirred fear in their chests. That a stranger dragon took better care of Luffy than they did. Luffy may have assured them he wouldn't leave them for dragons, but the insecurity got so much worse after just one incident. Where a dragon was a better protector than Luffy's brothers. They were so ashamed and felt so guilty, but didn't want to let it show, so when Luffy glanced back at them, their guilty looks disappeared in a heartbeat.

After Ace took Luffy into his lap and started to massage his scalp, crusty from the sea water but Luffy refused to go inside and bathe, Sabo got up to go get a book to read to the dragon. All they could do was be on deck or in the library since the room they were staying in was ruined and soaked in sea water. Their clothes would need to be washed, so Luffy had nothing else to change into.

The brothers assumed the clothes were going to be washed because the Whitebeards always knew what to do next and promptly got to it. When Sabo got back, he saw that Luffy was dozing against Ace's chest. His back was to his big brother, the dragon's head resting against Ace's clavicle.

Ace was looking down at him sadly without moving to wake him up. "We're horrible big brothers," Ace said quietly. Sabo frowned, but did agree with Ace. "Couldn't even protect him, or go into the water and bring him back. A dragon did a better job protecting him than his 'brothers'." Ace said the last part somewhat bitterly. "Some brothers we are," he muttered, looking at Luffy's swollen cut, though the dragon saliva would help it. It had always helped greatly for Ace and Sabo when they were hurt. Which was quite often at their home island.

Sabo didn't disagree with anything he said, just sat down next to Ace and cupped Luffy's cheek gently. A light enough touch to try to not wake him up. "We can't protect him. We're weak, and now we can't trust this crew," Sabo said quietly. Then he sighed. "Ace, what do we do?" He sounded almost pleading, wanting his brother to have the answers that he didn't.

Ace frowned deeply. "We have no way to find a witch that would guarantee Luffy's curse being broken, and have no way to get to where the Whitebeards' say they're going to take us. I don't know what to do either, Sabo."

Neither of them knew Luffy wasn't asleep, and could hear them clearly. He had been dozing, but when Sabo touched his face, it tickled a bit and he came to. Ace and Sabo were worried and thought they were bad brothers for being unable to predict the future. Yes, Luffy wished they had found him and the dragon had not needed to hurt the ship, but Luffy didn't blame them for it happening. He was the one who was too slow to realize there were bad people in the room until he was stuck and cornered like some animal.

When Ace started rubbing Luffy's chest through his shirt, he drifted back to sleep, not knowing his brothers knew he was awake by the end of their short and depressing conversation.

-x-

The ship was in uproar when Luffy's situation was explained, though not in the way Marco or any of the commanders had expected. They knew their crew and brothers were mostly good people, if not greedy and testy sometimes, but they didn't expect the thing that they would be more angry about was that it was kept a secret all this time, and they'd been thinking Luffy was just a little, hostile asshole.

When it was explained in the galley, with the brothers out on deck and refusing to come inside even when it was still storming, not everyone had been inside, but the commanders besides Izo had been, as he was keeping watch, the pirates were angry that they didn't know. That they would have been nicer and thought better of the kid if they had known his situation.

Some were worried, however, about the attraction Luffy drew the dragons to their ship, though there had been no attack on any of the crew, even with dragons of all sizes visiting them. The episode with the three members who were no longer welcome on the main ship and the dragon that messed up the wall of the ship didn't make them angry at Luffy.

They were angry at the men who had taunted and attacked what they thought was a child at the time. The majority of the crew did not want Luffy gone, because they now sympathized with him over his situation and how hard it must be for him. Some were fascinated, while many were just upset that it had been kept a secret, if only for a week or so.

Marco was ashamed to have thought so badly of his brothers that they kept it a secret to keep Luffy safe. It wasn't as if one of the crew would just steal Luffy away and leave the ship. None of them were like that.

Remembering Teach's incident, they were glad Luffy wasn't in dragon form or he would have done much worse than bite Teach's shoulder and barely break the skin. He was just lucky his ear didn't get bitten off. Some of the members on the crew had come across dragons before being on the Moby Dick, and most had been smart enough to not provoke them. But no one felt fear for Luffy as he was now: a helpless kid.

Luffy would hate it, but many pitied him. And they wanted to make sure Luffy knew they wouldn't hurt him. At least, they made no impression that they wanted to. Teach still seemed sour over the bite, but he wasn't stupid enough to try something and risk being kicked off the main ship like those three were.

"I've been acting strange around Luffy lately so that he doesn't get offended by me. We all know how big most dragons' pride are. And we all know how easily angered Luffy becomes," Marco explained.

"Is that why he's been hiding? To not get angry at us?" someone from Marco's division questioned in the crowd. Everyone was sitting at the tables, though it was more crowded than usual due to almost everyone being inside, when during regular meals, not everyone ate at the exact same time.

Marco nodded. "Luffy's having a hard time not getting offended, so he's removing himself from the problem as often as possible. He doesn't want to get him or his brothers in trouble." The mythical zoan then sighed. "He refuses to come inside. We've lost what little trust we'd built with him. I don't know how we can reverse that, it's a massive step backwards." some of the crew grumbled about the three idiots.

Vista was embarrassed that they were in his division, and felt he should have done something about it before it happened. But, he also knew he was partly to blame for this, saying in front of everyone, that Luffy in fact _wasn't_ a zoan. And no one had made the connection to dragon instead of bratty kid.

Whitebeard assured him that it wasn't his fault that they were his division members, and that, as captain, Whitebeard should have seen it as well. Many of the crew were ashamed about the whole situation. Thatch was in the kitchen, trying to come up with something he could do to make Luffy feel better, but it was hard when Luffy despised most human food, if not all. So, what was Thatch to make for him?

He mostly stood at the counter and brainstormed silently, but was coming up with nothing helpful. The cook was listening to his father and fellow commanders speak with an uncharacteristic scowl on. Thinking about how hellish Luffy's short human life was so far. This ship probably no longer felt at all safe for him. Thatch wouldn't be surprised if the dragon just ran off with his brothers with another dragon.

Namur had explained that the dragon had let Luffy breathe by creating a bubble of air around him. If it was a land dragon, it would be able to fly the brothers away, though they would have no reason for Robin to trust their word about knowing the Whitebeards. It was a mess, and no one knew how to fix it. Or if it could be fixed after Luffy was threatened and attacked.

Thatch and many of the commanders were disgusted and felt hate for their own brothers for tormenting a child. Whitebeard made it clear that Luffy was a child, regardless of species, even if that might be inaccurate. After all, Luffy wasn't human and could age similar to cats and dogs, where their development is much faster compared to humans. Or it could be the opposite and Luffy was actually much younger in dragon years, if that was how it worked.

Though dragons were just as or smarter than humans, according to what humans knew from history, they had never crossed paths genetically. There was evidence that they'd been around longer than humans had. And although they'd been around as long or longer than humans, there was still much information lacking about them, and it wasn't as if they could communicate with humans with speech. Luffy was the only exception as far as they knew, and only because he was cursed into a human form.

"It's going to take a lot of work to get their trust back, if we can at all, and we need everyone to cooperate, whether you like it or not," the captain said. He sounded very serious.

"What do we have to do?" a member of the fourth division asked.

"Show respect. You all know he's a dragon now, so he will be treated as one. Not feared, but respected. You will _at least_ do as Marco has been doing. Averting your eyes downwards, and those of you who are especially committed will bow." This made some in the room testy, as they were prideful men. Protests were made clear, but Whitebeard shut all of them down by saying, "I've already done it."

Hearing that Whitebeard, an emperor, captain, and seasoned pirate, bowed to a child flabbergasted many. But again, they reminded themselves that Luffy was a dragon. Wasn't it the least they could do to respect him? If someone of Whitebeard's caliber and pride would show submission to Luffy, then why couldn't they? However, they were glad Whitebeard made an accomodation for them, which was glancing down before making eye contact.

"You all may not like the three, maybe especially Luffy, but I want to help them, and after what some of our family has done, we more than deserve to chaperone them to an island. They will be here for awhile, and I would like to try to build up the trust we've lost so easily," Whitebeard stressed. He wanted his sons to understand that the captain wanted to help them, and now, on their honor, they needed to make amends for what had happened, even if they didn't personally do it themselves.

The three who ruined things and caused damage to their ship were in solitary confinement, while James was still in the infirmary for his missing ear. The captain and commanders knew Whisky probably wasn't being the gentlest with him, and weren't upset by it.

The instigators had thrown a hissy fit when they were alerted they'd be leaving the main ship while Luffy was still present, but Whitebeard had given them a terrifying look that shut them up immediately. They'd sullied the crew's honor, and therefore also the captain's. Everyone knew Whitebeard cared about his honor in situations this sensitive.

Marco was feeling happy by the end of the conversation, and gladly read the pirates the notes he'd taken not so long ago, on how to approach Luffy. Though, no one but the commanders were allowed to approach him without express permission from the one who was guarding the kids. They would at least nod their head to Luffy is he passed by them.

Thatch finally decided on what he wanted to make Luffy, and chose expensive venison that he had been planning on saving. But, he could spare some of it to try and make the poor dragon feel a little better. After the crew dispersed, instructed to stay away from Luffy and his brothers for the time being and to get back to work draining the floor that had the water trapped in it, Thatch prepared the deer meat.

There wasn't much for him to do with it, but he made sure to give Luffy the best cut of it. The boy had to be tired of cow and fish only, when he probably hunted for various meals back at his original island when he was still himself.

He gave the plate to Marco to take to the brothers, along with a pitcher of water with some cups for all three of them. When Marco got outside, the three were all sitting on the whale head on the ship, somewhere they didn't usually go. Usually they went to the back of the ship, so Marco assumed they wanted a change in scenery and to see where they were going and not where they came from.

Luffy visibly tensed when Marco's sandals clacked against the deck as he walked closer, and turned around just barely to see Marco was panicked eyes. It made his heart fall, seeing Luffy so scared. The man had a feeling that something more happened to the dragon in that situation. Maybe it reminded him of his family being killed, being cornered by humans.

"Thatch made prepared some rare venison for Luffy. I also have some water for all three of you," Marco explained, but didn't approach Luffy, Ace getting up to fetch the food and drinks. The freckled teen thanked him and walked back to Luffy. Marco stuck around just long enough for Luffy to eat it, which took some coaxing, Sabo assuring him that the pirates weren't stupid enough to poison the food after what happened.

Marco frowned deeply seeing just to the extent of the trust they had lost. In the blink of an eye, the pirates were again the enemy. They had always been the enemy, but Luffy hadn't always been scared of them. Marco truly hoped the experience would fade away once Luffy was confident and back to being a dragon.

Luffy seemed to like the venison, and Marco was sure Thatch would be happy about it.


	11. Trauma

Since the three brothers no longer had a bedroom, there was no reason to go inside until Luffy finally agreed at midnight, to take a bath from the sea water he'd been pulled into. He kept his eyes wide open when they walked through the dimly lit hallways and to the single bathroom they'd used multiple times before.

The cut on Luffy's shoulder was still a nasty, bright red, but it was clearly doing better after the dragon licked it. Luffy's saliva had saved Ace and Sabo on multiple occasions. If they had access to that all the time, even when Luffy was in human form, then they would feel much more confident about trying to find their own witch.

But, that was out of the question and even Luffy, reluctantly, knew that they would have very little to no luck finding a witch willing to change a human back into a dragon, which was something most witches didn't like, since they competed for abilities. Even though dragons had one specific ability, and witches could have many.

Luffy missed his ice powers very much, but if he used them now then they would probably make him very cold. Humans were too sensitive, and Luffy felt bad for winters at home, when they were in the treehouse but it was super cold for Ace and Sabo. They could be near the campfire, but it was less safe at night than up in the tree.

The two had made blankets out of animals fur and skin, though they weren't the softest and often had bugs in them. Luffy was the only one who usually was not affected by the temperature, and was always nice and warm. Too bad for his older brothers that he wasn't soft and squishy or he'd make a nice, warm pillow. Instead Luffy's scales were thick and he was mostly hard muscle, so no globby fat to rest against.

Lufy was very quiet in the bath while he washed his hair slowly, wanting to be able to do it himself instead of his brothers doing it and taking the easy way out. The other two said nothing, making the slight sloshing of the water and the sound of hands running through foamy hair the only sounds. Luffy also didn't want to alert any humans that they were inside the ship and not sleeping outside.

When the water grew cold, it took Ace and Sabo coaxing Luffy to come out, even if he was shivering in the cool water now. He finally came out and dried off quickly, putting on the only outfit he had which was a bit crusty from the sea water. They didn't know where the clothes that were in the room that had flooded.

Thank goodness there was nothing of importance they'd had that was ruined from the water. They weren't on that floor, so none of them knew or had seen the extent of the damage. They hadn't gotten in trouble for it, which Luffy was very thankful for, even if he felt guilty about it. That dragon had come for _him_ , even if he wasn't the one to destroy the wall himself, it was still his fault.

But then, the prideful dragon side shouted at him that it was the dirty humans' faults! He was lost in his thoughts as he walked back with his brothers through the halls, trying to find the closet that had blankets in it to take outside to sleep. Again, they weren't on the flooded floor, so when they found the linen closet, nothing was wet or damaged. The three pulled out many blankets and headed back outside.

They curled up, Ace lying flat, Luffy curled to his side, and Sabo on Luffy's other side, all laying on a blanket and covered by one for each of them, as they overlapped but a single one didn't cover all three.

No dragons visited that night, and the brothers slept peacefully, Luffy not having any nightmares, miraculously. When they woke up, it was to Thatch setting down their breakfast so they didn't need to go inside. Luffy jerked upright and scooted away on new instinct, but Thatch bowed his head to him and then walked away. He didn't say anything to them, just left their food and drink there. Luffy was back to steak and fish, though the venison had been a good treat the day before.

Everyone left the brothers alone most of the day, and Luffy was somewhat sad no dragons came to visit him. After seeing some almost everyday, going on without them made him sad, and he didn't know why. He had Ace and Sabo, so he wasn't lonely. He did notice his brothers seemed happier with no dragons stealing Luffy or his attention away from them.

Luffy would do his best to convey his love to Ace and Sabo, even if it was only nuzzling them, that was what he knew worked, and get right to it after food, sitting next to Ace and nuzzling his shoulder, since his brothers were much bigger than Luffy was now. His head only reached their shoulders.

Ace smiled and rubbed his hand on Luffy's other shoulder, reaching around his back to reach it. Sabo had stood up near the railing, so Luffy stood up and walked to him to nuzzle his face against him. It brought out a smile in Sabo, too. Luffy had a feeling they both liked this even more since it was one of the only peeks into the dragon Luffy had been. The cheerful and loving, confident dragon he was born as.

Well, Luffy would turn back no matter what, so they wouldn't be so sad anymore, and Luffy could be happy with himself again. Thatch came back not too much later to see if they were done with their food, and again bowed to Luffy respectfully, which was confusing to the dragon. Why was Thatch bowing? Wasn't he one of the proud humans?

Ace had similar thinking, and asked, "Why are you bowing _now?"_

"We want Luffy's trust back, and we want to make things easier for him by being respectful and understanding," Thatch explained as he collected the empty dishes and water.

"You mean the commanders?" Sabo questioned. Thatch shook his head.

"No, almost everyone. No one is happy with what Luffy's attackers have done. They'll be leaving later today when our sister ship arrives," Thatch replied. Luffy was the most surprised of the three brothers. People weren't angry at him for damaging the ship and biting their crewmember's ear off? It confused Luffy. Why now? So he asked.

"Because everyone knows now, and many feel bad with their behavior when they thought you were just a bratty kid. Not all humans are dragon hunters, Luffy, and those three idiots didn't attack you for being a dragon. They were just being assholes," the chef explained. He nodded again to the dragon, who didn't know what to say, and walked away and back to the kitchen to put their plates and utensils away. Thatch didn't care that Luffy swiped a spoon. That had been on Marco's list of how to deal with Luffy without upsetting him.

"Should we trust his word?" Ace asked Sabo and Luffy. Luffy shrugged, not sure what to think. Humans were inherently bad as far as he was concerned, but he finally believed that maybe there were a few good ones, like Ace and Sabo and maybe Marco or Whitebeard. But not all of the pirates on this ship were good guys. Luffy and his brothers knew that, just by the fact that there were so many of them. You can't have over a thousand people on a ship and _all_ of them be good or kind people.

The three spent the day on the back deck, trying to teach Luffy how to play tic tac toe or rock-paper-scissors or lounging around looking at the clouds. One dragon had visited, and Luffy wondered where on earth it had come from since it was the size of a butterfly and wasn't a water dragon, meaning it had flown an extremely long way from an island somewhere.

It crawled along Luffy's pointer finger, little claws making pricks on his fingers, though not deep enough to draw blood. Luffy held it up for Ace and Sabo to see. The two felt much more at ease with this little guy than the others that had come, even if they had mostly ignored the two humans that their fellow dragon seemed to trust.

When Ace's finger got too close for the little dragon's comfort, it bit him, drawing some blood and flew away a bit and then landed on Luffy's shoulder instead, looking at Ace suspiciously. Though he shouldn't be surprised, and had never touched any of the dragons that flocked to Luffy. He swore as blood came out of the wound, but he didn't go to get it checked, just put in into his mouth to stop the bleeding.

Luffy didn't scold the little thing because it didn't know Ace and a human was trying to touch it. Maybe even little dragons were hunted. Though this one was small enough to just need a net and not to be wrangled by big and strong humans into chains or ropes.

It crawled along Luffy's collarbone before deciding it wanted to leave and flew away. Ace frowned, though not at the injury. He wished that being close to Luffy also meant they could interact with other dragons, because seeing just how varied they all look made them so much more interesting and beautiful.

His finger was still bleeding a bit, so decided to go get a bandage for it and went inside the ship. He wouldn't tell anyone about it, not wanting them to know he had been bitten by a dragon, tiny or not, even if he had been the one who got too close to it willingly. It wasn't a very big deal, and the bite wasn't too bad, but he wanted a bandage for it anyway.

Luffy and Sabo stayed outside, which wasn't a problem. It wasn't like Ace had gotten very hurt, he just had a bite on his finger. It stung, but not too bad. He'd had _much_ worse injuries than this. He wished Luffy could lick it better. When Ace entered the infirmary, he saw that the guy with the missing ear was in there, though he was supposed to be leaving that day. Ace couldn't stand the sight of him, but was proud of Luffy for doing lasting damage on one of his attackers. An ear wouldn't grow back or heal like the cut Luffy got would.

Ace couldn't help the sneer he wore after making eye contact with the ashole, who everyone on the ship seemed to have disagreed with. Good. God, Ace wanted to punch him in the face so badly.

The nurse who was applying some sort of cream on the stitches on the ear turned to see who had come in and saw Ace. "What you here for?" she asked, looking back to her patient she was working on. The man kept wincing, meaning the nurse wasn't being the gentlest.

"My finger got pricked and I want a bandage," Ace explained simply. He held up his bleeding finger, and was glad when the nurse didn't ask what it was from, since Ace would end up lying, and he was not as good a liar as Sabo was. Never had been and probably never will be. Not that he'd ever needed to be a good liar in his life in the jungle. He had very few interactions with other humans, so there was no need to lie.

Whiskey, the nurse, got him a bandage and disinfectant to clean the little wound. She didn't comment about how it very obviously looked like a bite mark. Ace hadn't been able to tell when the blood was there. He was bandaged and started to leave, before saying, not looking at the man, "Have fun on another ship, dickhead," and he left before the man could reply.

He wished he could have punched him, but at least he was able to throw in a rude jab. Ace was glad that they were being removed from the ship instead of Luffy and his brothers. Just that made Ace trust these pirates a bit more. Gaining his and Sabo's trust would be slow, but not impossible.

For Luffy, however, he couldn't tell if the dragon would ever trust these pirates, or any humans in general, after the incident. But, at least anyone wanting to hurt Luffy, if there was one who wished to do so, now knew that a dragon would bust through the ship to save its fellow. Ace was still sore over not being the one to save Luffy. He would make it up to him as best as he could, and knew Sabo felt the same and would do anything to make up for what happened.

Neither of them would leave Luffy alone from now on. At least, not on this ship and not until Luffy was back to normal. Ace couldn't wait for Luffy to be a dragon again. Sure, he liked being able to hold Luffy and have a _soft_ face rub on his instead of hard scales, but Ace would be lying if he said he didn't miss dragon Luffy, who he'd grown up with for ten years, ever since Ace found him all alone that day.

Would Luffy have been happier if he grew up with his real family? Was Ace a step down? He had rarely had those thoughts anymore, but they were coming back with Luffy happily interacting with other dragons.

When he got outside, Sabo and Luffy were still on the back deck, watching the water with their legs hanging through the breaks in the railed side of the ship. There were dolphins trailing after the ship, large but swimming deep enough to not possibly damage the ship.

Luffy exclaimed when a large shadow was coming up from the water and swifting snatched the dolphin into its jaws, swimming down and away from the ship, a trail of blood in the water, until the brothers couldn't see the dragon.

Luffy pouted, missing hunting like that. Taking his prey by surprise, easily dispatching them from a bite to the jugular, killing them quickly. He missed that so much, as much as he missed flying and his powers. Hunting had been a great confidence booster, and he could definitely use that right now.

Sabo put his hand on Luffy's back, and said, "Once you're back to normal, we'll find an island with a lot of wild animals and you can go hunting as much as you want."

"Just no horses," Ace added. Sabo chuckled and Luffy pouted in indignation. He wouldn't have attacked the horse if he'd known it was domesticated. At least his last meal as a dragon was tasty, as he'd eaten almost the entire thing before the witch came running and cursed Luffy as he ran back to the forest.

Ace and Sabo had found human Luffy, naked and freaking out in the field. Then Sabo clobbered the witch and she was dead. He didn't mean to kill her, but at least she couldn't have done worse to them out of anger and grief for her pet horse. Ace would have recommended she kept the horse in a stable, since people knew there was a dragon or more than one living in the forest. No one who lived on the island purposely went inside to search for one, because they weren't stupid.

The dolphins had scattered and were no longer swimming along with the ship, after the dragon caught one of their pod. Soon, the water was back to being boring and endless. "You know, I never knew there were so many dragons in the world. Why haven't anymore come to our island? It was a nice place with plenty of wild area so no humans would come over," Sabo wondered.

"Mama say tertory," Luffy said, surprising the teens that he spoke without being asked to.

"Dragons have territories?" Ace asked, getting a nod from Luffy. "So, the island was your territory?" Luffy shrugged. Maybe other dragons knew that the ones on that island had been hunted and didn't want to risk anyone hurting _them_ or their babies. "So, do water dragons not have territory? There have been a lot of them in the same area. And that huge flock of them had come from seemingly nowhere. Did they leave their territories to come see you?" Again, Luffy shrugged, not knowing the answer to his questions.

"Interesting," Sabo said. "You know, if we actually _could,_ writing a book about this whole thing would be interesting." Luffy frowned. He didn't like this situation, why would Sabo want to cement it in story form? "Just a thought," Sabo added when he saw Luffy's darkening expression.

"Oh, Lu, I threw a jab at the guy whose ear you bit off. He looked to be in a lot of pain, and it was swollen pretty badly," Ace mentioned.

"Good," Sabo said strongly. "He deserved it. They all deserved to be punished more than just kicking them off the ship for now. This pirate crew is weird. I always read that pirates were bad people who just plundered, murdered and destroyed. These ones act a lot more civilized than I thought pirates could."

Ace nodded along, having heard bad things about pirates in the very few times he went into town and actually talked or paid attention to any of the people. Luffy hadn't heard much about pirates, as they didn't concern him since rarely did any pirates go to their home island. His face fell as he thought about their old home.

"We haf to bold new home," Luffy said.

Ace and Sabo frowed, sometimes forgetting that they could never go back to their home island. But surely, there were others like it in Paradise. Luffy could get them there, though it would be a long and tedious journey to fly in the New World and over the Red Line, which was very tall.

And they would need to find someplace that was mostly deserted, not teeming with humans. Along with a forest that Luffy's size could fit through the trees. That tree that they had built their house in had been big enough for Luffy to enter inside, which was very sturdy. They had never weighed Luffy, but he had to be heavier than the Tiger Lord had been, since once Luffy had killed it, he easily carried it in his teeth. Well, that could just mean he was strong and not heavy.

"It'll all work out. For now, we have to focus on making it to the witch the Whitebeards say they are taking us to and getting Luffy turned back." Ace and Luffy nodded in agreement. They would focus on the now, because looking to the future where Luffy was a dragon again made him sad and worried that it would never come. Best to try and not focus on that.

-x-

Marco was on watch duty, sitting in the crows nest, with the three brothers in sight, curled up under blankets together, near the railing but not close enough to get wet from the sea spray. Luffy was curled up in the middle of them. They had usually stayed in the same spot, out of view in the crowsnest, but for some reason, tonight, they chose to else somewhere else.

Marco had noticed that a couple sea creatures were staying with the ship, fully submerged so Marco couldn't see what they were in the moonlight. And he didn't dare fly over the water if there were dragons sleeping with the ship. Since they hadn't moved in awhile, Marco assumed they were sleeping.

He was so used to only feeling some sea kings on occasion, to feeling presences of all sizes near or on the ship. He had stopped telling others about them because the dragons never went further from Luffy, and telling everyone that dragons were on and under the ship would just freak them out. Especially after the ship was easily damaged just by a dragon smashing its head through Adam's Wood, the strongest wood there was.

It just went to show that dragons were terribly strong and dangerous when threatened, or one of their own threatened. Marco was about to get up when he felt one of the smaller presences climbing up the side of the ship, and fitting between the bars of the railing, walking over to the brothers and on top of Luffy. It was the size of a cat, so Luffy obviously woke up, but instead of doing anything to get it to go away, he raised the blanket and put his hand on the little dragon that curled up and fell asleep under the blanket.

Marco smiled to himself; it was cute. As long as it didn't attack Ace and Sabo, then Marco was fine with it being there, especially when there was no risk of any of Marco's brothers being hurt. Whiskey had told Marco about the injury Ace had, and he assumed it was a bite from a very small dragon. Whiskey agreed, as no bird would bite like that and it wasn't like any fish they caught could injure him.

According to Whiskey, Ace didn't seem too bothered with it, just getting a bandage. Neither Ace nor Sabo woke up from the little dragon visiting Luffy. It had very carefully not touched the two real humans, but it didn't threaten them either.

After everything that had happened with dragons since Luffy and his brothers arrived had made Marco not only more interested in them, but it also made him realize that they were given a bad rep by most humans. And that they were incredibly smart, like the dragon knowing that pulling the wood of the wall outwards would slow the water that was flooding into the ship after said dragon busted through the thick wood. Or knowing that Luffy needed to breathe air, so the water dragons, two of them, had created a pocket of air for him under the water. And Marco had approached them, along with the captain, if only briefly, and none of them attacked. That was when they wanted to see Luffy and everyone ended up hiding inside the ship.

If those dragons had really wanted to see Luffy and grew impatient, they could have busted the door down and those that could fit could have searched the ship for the boy/dragon. Man, that would have been a nightmare, probably resulting in some casualties on both sides. But instead, they had waited patiently. They had all the time in the world. And having Luffy here also cemented in the fact that, just because the pirates couldn't _see_ them, dragons were literally everywhere.

Marco couldn't count how many times he'd sensed one of them beneath or swimming alongside the ship. Or just resting near the vessel while it was stationary. His phoenix senses seemed to have gotten used to the feeling of danger from the dragons, though Marco didn't think they would attack unless provoked, like Luffy had been.

The commander looked down to Luffy, feeling sad suddenly. He'd worked so hard to get along with the kid, be on friendly terms despite Luffy's "attitude" and his hate of Marco for being human. Now it was all gone, and maybe it wouldn't be possible to rebuild what little trust he had made between he and Luffy. Marco's frown turned into a scowl at his brothers' bad decisions.

As far as they knew, Luffy was a human child. Yes, they were pirates, but there were some things you just don't do. Attacking a weaponless child was one of them. If Luffy had been attacking them, it still wouldn't make brandishing a weapon acceptable when he would be easy to subdue just by sitting on him if need be.

Marco, and much of the rest of the crew, were disappointed in their brothers, and that probably hurt more than the punch that they had been given. Pops being disappointed in any of them would feel like crap. Marco _did_ know how that felt. When he was first welcomed, as a teenager all those decades ago, he had once beaten the crap out of a gang, though they were not serious and quite weak. Pops had been disappointed in him for causing trouble and not pulling his punches.

Marco had not had his devil fruit back then, and went back to their ship with scraped knuckles. He had lied about it, and that was also why Pops felt disappointment in him. It had been the worst feeling Marco had ever felt, and he did everything to not feel that again. Be a disappointment to his father.

The phoenix zoan's attention was brought back to Luffy after a few minutes of being lost in thought, and it was a bigger dragon, the size of a small horse. Marco slowly got to his feet when it approached Luffy, but it didn't hurt any of the three, though it seemed irritated by the twitching of its tail.

It bared its teeth and leaned towards Luffy, and Marco then crouched, ready to spring to defense, but then the dragon grabbed the blanket with its mouth and threw it aside to grab the smaller dragon around the scruff and bring it back to the water and out of sight. Two small splashes were heard, and Luffy was sitting up in confusion, but then smiled to himself sleepily, and Marco wished they could bring out that smile.

All the crew brought out in him was fear and anger, and it made Marco feel sick.

When he switched with Thatch that night, before he had gone inside to go to bed, Marco walked to the brothers and took the blanket the dragon had picked up, which had holes in it from the sharp teeth, laying it back over Luffy gently. He didn't want Luffy to be cold when human skin was very sensitive to temperature and they were already sleeping in chilly, open air.

"Don't freak if some dragons pop up," Marco said to Thatch before heading inside and to his room. Thankfully, the bedrooms weren't flooded. The bedrooms for commanders, captain and bunk rooms were on a different floor than where the flooding had happened, and had taken a long time to get out.

He had trouble getting to sleep, though. Thinking about how much more time they had until they got to Sabaody to coat the ship, which would take at least another day, and then the descent to Fishman Island, where Marco was sure Luffy wouldn't be welcomed. Fishmen who lived out in the open ocean knew that dragons weren't man eaters, but those who lived inside the city had a preconceived idea that, not only humans were against them, but dragons as well. They were thoroughly offended that dragons mixed them up for being large fish or sea mammals when dragons knew humans weren't food.

Marco thought it was a stupid view, since most dragons who come across fishmen rarely attack, and usually realize once they get a clear focus and then swim away to look for suitable meals. Sea kings attacked fishmen more often than dragons did.

So, the crew would need to attempt to keep Luffy a secret, because there was no other way they could get him across the Red Line other than below the cliff, and through Fishman Island. Luffy had been around Namur plenty of times and never acted like he'd like to eat the fishman, so it wouldn't be a valid argument that Luffy would want to eat any fishmen. Not that he even could in this form, and it wasn't as if he'd enjoy going back after changing back into dragon form to munch on some tasty fishmen.

The notion was ridiculous. Marco may have felt Luffy was dangerous at first, and he _could_ be if he wished, but now that he knew the dragon boy personally, he knew Luffy was now more scared of them than they ever were of him. Again, it broke his heart, and he hoped that Luffy wouldn't forever be affected by three guys' stupid decision.

Ace and Sabo would never forgive them if that happened, and Marco wouldn't either.


	12. A stressful Docking

**Seeing a new character in this chapter. And more time with dragons. Enjoy~**

* * *

Luffy refused to go inside for anything other than desperately needing to use the bathroom. Other than that, he mostly stayed out on deck with Ace and Sabo, who were glad they'd adapted so easily to once again sleeping on wood out in the cold. They wouldn't go inside without one of them being with Lu at all times.

The dragon seemed to have developed a phobia of being indoors and alone with anyone but his brothers. He didn't even growl at anyone anymore, just shuffling to the side so close he was against the wall whenever a pirate passed them down the hall. He didn't look at the men, which made their bowing pointless if Luffy didn't even see them.

Luffy believed they just wanted him to like them so they could stab him in the back. It was a mindset his brothers had been trying to get him to drop for the last two days, but to no avail. They didn't focus on it much, though. The reason was because, although he was afraid to go indoors, he was happier with Ace and Sabo.

The two brothers had a theory that him feeling as if he couldn't go inside reminded him of at home, when there _was_ no inside. Luffy had always lived outside, even if it was in a treehouse, it was still outside. Luffy was perfectly happy to isolate himself from all of the pirates and stayed outside all day. He especially liked sitting in the crowsnest, where seagulls flew above, and more than once, a dragon just a bit bigger than the birds snatched them out of the sky and ate while flying away.

Luffy was happiest when his own kind was around, and that scared Ace and Sabo, no matter how many times Luffy assured he wouldn't leave them. Neither of the brothers had felt insecure before, even when Sabo was trapped in the nobles' world, but with dragons making Luffy smile more than they did, well, it made both nervous.

Some of the pirates were saddened that Luffy wouldn't even give them a second chance, and only Marco or Thatch would approach. Thatch, to bring food and water, and Marco to update them on the progress of the ship, and guesstimates of how long it would take to get to the next island, which was coming closer at a nice pace.

It had been a long break between islands when the brothers were picked up during that storm. The next island was one busy and populated with humans, so the three would stay on the ship. Apparently it was a big city. No wild area, and the three weren't used to busy places. The ship was busier than all three had even known.

Even when Sabo was still a noble, he was confined inside most of the day, so he wasn't used to such a busy place. So, the three would not be setting foot on Water 7. Many would be leaving the ship, but many would also be staying. Marco said that they were going to have a real shipwright from the Galley La Company, apparently the shipwright company on the island, come and check it out.

Until then, Luffy stayed outside. The only time he was physically forced inside, which had him kicking and shouting, was when a storm was coming. A dangerous one that would wash the brother's overboard if they stayed outside. Luffy's comfort wasn't taken into consideration when it came to protecting his life.

After the storm, Luffy had _not_ been happy with his brothers dragging him inside, and sat with his back to them for an hour, before he finally caved. They did their best to convince him it was for their own good, but Luffy was still irked, even if he knew deep down his anger was unjustified. At least it had been Ace and Sabo touching him, and not one of the dirty human pirates. They'd probably try to throw him overboard.

Ace and Sabo knew that Luffy's utter refusal to interact with most of the pirates, even commanders wishing to speak to him, bothered the crew. Things had changed a lot in just a few days. Luffy had been building trust slowly but steadily in Marco and Whitebeard, and then the incident happened, and whatever went through his mind at the moment he was alone and at the mercy of bad humans much bigger than him, had affected him deeply. In just two days, all trust had been erased and mistrust increased substantially.

None of the pirates knew what had Luffy react so badly. Ace and Sabo didn't tell them after Luffy shared his point of view more in depth to his brothers. But, they should have known that Luffy would never get over the trauma of the day his family was killed, and the lasting repercussions of the event.

Dragons continued to visit Luffy, at night most often, waking him up multiple times. Dragons liked being cuddly with him, no matter their size. One the size of a large dog seemed to be a dumb one, though no one would voice that to not be rude or get attacked for it. It stepped across Ace completely, waking him up from the very heavy dragon. Ace had been terrified. This one had jagged teeth that were more like a crocodile than any dragon that he'd ever seen, and it was stepping on top of him, its talons hurting.

Luffy had woken up from it, and saw the fear in Ace's eyes as he stayed as still as possible, not even changing his breathing speed. Luffy had stood up and asked the dragon to not step on his brother. The dragon had looked surprised at Ace, like he hadn't noticed the very obvious human he was walking on.

The dragon child had lead it to the side a bit, and didn't want to upset it, so he slept next to the beast. This one was incredibly clingy, and has latched onto Luffy's leg and refused to let him go. Luffy didn't fear it, but it did eventually become annoying. Ace and Sabo didn't approach him with this dragon, probably due to its appearance and unique jaw.

It only left after it smelled the stench of human food, and flew back and away till they couldn't see it anymore. It made the brothers wonder where on earth it had come from, this far out and nowhere near any islands. Well, islands that humans knew about.

Luffy hadn't voiced it, but wondered if there was somewhere that dragons came from that humans didn't know about. It puzzled him how some of the non-water dragons had come to the ship when they were nowhere near an island. He wished he could ask where they were coming from, but was unable to communicate, since he was still a pathetic human.

-x-

Three weeks until the ship got to the Red Line, things weren't looking good in Marco's eyes. Luffy was still refusing to interact with any of the pirates, and seemed to be going backwards in some ways. He was happier being alone and outside with his brothers, but he was also acting more and more afraid of Marco, even though he hadn't done anything negative. It was frustrating, and Marco just wanted to reverse time.

They were at Water 7, and most of the pirates had come off the ship to explore and go to the bars to drink while Galley La worked on the ship. Luffy was hidden somewhere inside with his brothers. For some reason, the moment the foremen stepped on the ship, Luffy fled. _Inside the ship._ Where he never went anymore.

Ace and Sabo had explained nothing about it, and just followed after Luffy. Marco wouldn't know what the problem was, as he had met Lucci and Kaku before, and they were nice guys, if not a bit weird with Lucci's talking pigeon. When Marco lead them inside, his haki told him Luffy and his brothers were nowhere near where they were. They were deeper in the ship, and Marco could tell they were near Pops's room, maybe even inside it. That meant Luffy was very scared of Lucci and Kaku, so much that he would hide in the captain's room, which was completely off limits to _anyone._

Despite the feeling of suspicion Marco was feeling, he dutifully explained that a dragon had collided with the ship, which surprised the men. Dragons rarely interacted with humans, and the foremen had probably never had a ship need to be fixed that was caused by a dragon.

Marco's eyes narrowed just slightly when Lucci's own blank eyes flicked to the right, where Marco's haki told him Luffy had just run from one side of the hall to the other, making a roundabout route through the ship and away from where Marco and the men were. Did Lucci have haki? It was rare for those in Paradise, and Lucci was supposed to just be a foreman, who was strong, but mostly a normal guy.

The phoenix monitored his behavior, and if Lucci _had_ slipped up, he was very thorough with not slipping a second time. He and Kaku took their report and were to go back to the shipyard and get together a crew and the right supplies. It was a large job due to the fact the damage came from the outside and was underwater.

After the men left the ship, Marco went to find Luffy, who was hiding in the empty bathtub in the lowest floor of the ship. Ace and Sabo looked uncertain and worried, while Luffy looked terrified. Marco didn't know why, as, so far, Luffy had no special talents in his human form, and was completely weak.

Marco stood in the doorway of the bathroom, looking at the brothers in worry. "What's wrong, Luffy?" Luffy's eyes widened and he curled into himself more. Marco crouched, trying to seem less intimidating, though he didn't know why Luffy was so damn afraid of him. When Luffy didn't answer, Ace did.

"Luffy said that the humans that came on the ship are bad humans. He won't say how he knows," Ace supplied, also sounding puzzled. Sabo rubbed Luffy's back comfortingly, though he had no idea what was wrong with Luffy either. "As soon as they stepped foot on the ship, he ran to Whitebeard's room and hid under the big bed. Then he ran down the hall and stairs to here."

Marco frowned and looked at Luffy closely. He studied his face, which Luffy was clearly trying to show no emotion on. But, Marco was always good at reading people, and thought Luffy was a dragon at heart, he was in a human body, and showing all the signs of petrifying terror. His pupils were blown wide, his mouth tight, and he had sweat on his face.

"Luffy, are you scared?" Marco asked. "More than lately?" the man clarified. Luffy furrowed his eyebrows, but didn't respond in any other way.

"Who are the people that came on the ship?" Sabo asked, his hand on Luffy's shoulder as he sat on the edge of the tub. "I thought they were shipwrights."

Marco frowned. "They are. I don't know, but one of them might have a devil fruit. As far as I know, though, they're just normal guys who work for Galley La Company. Though I think one or both of them has haki. Which hasn't been disclosed. But, whatever it is, it doesn't concern us and we'll have them repair it and then leave. Don't worry, even if they're bad guys, the commanders will protect everyone." Marco said the last part with a kind smile to Luffy, who frowned and shook his head.

"Stronger," Luffy said confidently, not stumbling over his words.

"Luffy, how do you know this?" Ace asked, sounding worried. Luffy shrugged, though the look of confusion was on his face. Marco frowned tightly.

"Well, we'll just be on look out, and I'll have Pops be on board next time they come, just in case," the first mate assured, wanting to know why _now_ Luffy seemed to have any sort of helpful ability.

He left the room to go wait for Pops, who had gone into town for some of his favorite sake while Marco stayed on the ship. Water 7 had thugs, but no one was stupid enough to attack the Whitebeard's ship, so Marco was more than enough to take care of it and guard it from any marines. There weren't any bases in Water 7, as it didn't have room for something like that. Their base was already close enough, in Ennies Lobby.

When Pops got back on the ship, Marco took him aside and told him of Luffy's odd behavior. The phoenix also told him of the slip up Lucci had made regarding haki, but said that he didn't sense anything else stronger than usual on the guy. They'd met before, multiple times, and there had never been any problem.

"Well, we'll keep watch and I'll stay on the ship for the repair. Hopefully that will make Luffy feel easier. Though he won't tell you how he knows?" Marco shook his head. "Hmm…"

-x-

Luffy was embarrassed. He was so scared of a mere human he'd never met before. He wasn't scared of Whitebeard and the man was huge and intimidating, even if he didn't seem like a mean guy. He was scary, but in a totally different way than Lucci. The moment Lucci set foot on the ship, Luffy had darted inside and to the captain's room, not caring if he got in trouble for it.

He didn't even tell Ace or Sabo what was wrong, the instinct to run too strong to defy. The man just gave off a really bad feeling, worse than the men who were going to attack Luffy. He was afraid of being inside in case one of the humans cornered him, but he'd take any of them over Lucci any day.

Luffy hadn't even been this scared of the bad humans that attacked him. Knowing that terrified Luffy, and he wanted the ship to leave this place as soon as possible. He wanted to sail away, felt the urge to fly away and flee as far as possible. The feeling might have been mental, but it made him ache. His body ached with the restraint of being unable to fight or flee.

The dragon hadn't felt like this before, and it was uncomfortable and foreign. He knew he looked the picture of weak to his brothers and Marco, but he was scared. This Lucci was a bad human. He'd never felt something like this before. His instincts, human or not, told him that Lucci could easily kill him as he was now.

But, Marco had said the guy was a normal guy. A normal guy wouldn't go around killing little kids. Marco did say he thought the man had haki, but multiple people on this ship had haki and hadn't realized anything about Luffy that was seen as abnormal. Luffy did trust Marco's judgement, not that he trusted the man, he just trusted his judgement. Marco wasn't stupid. Luffy knew that.

The rest of the day, Luffy spent in hiding in Whitebeard's room. The man hadn't been angry with Luffy fleeing there, and seemed perfectly understanding that Luffy was afraid, even if he didn't understand why he was afraid of Lucci. None of them knew that Luffy was in the middle of a crisis.

He was afraid of this crew, and that they would turn on him and the captain would kill him, but he was more afraid of this Lucci and that scared him even more. The brothers knew now that Whitebeard was a yonko of the sea, so then why did Lucci scare him so much? Surely, even if Lucci was hiding some power, Whitebeard would be stronger than him.

But Luffy also knew part of his fear was specific to this new man. He didn't feel this type of fear with the other bad humans, something was _bad_ about this guy. Luffy wished he could explain what he was feeling better to his brothers, but it was so complex that he didn't know how to say all the words.

The boy had no idea that his fear was attracting dragons, which were swimming towards the ship. Marco hurried into the room suddenly, opening the door to the three brothers lounging on the captain's massive bed.

Marco slowly walked to Luffy and crouched. "Luffy, I need you to try and calm your fears. Lucci isn't here right now. I'll tell you when he comes back, but you have to calm down. You're attracting dragons, and we don't want them hurting the ship again," Marco explained patiently and kindly.

"Your brothers and we will protect you if Lucci is a bad human. So, calm your fears. You're a fearsome dragon, Luffy. Don't be afraid of a human like this." Marco was trying to make him feel more confident, but it came across as patronizing to the dragon, and he felt a spark of anger, something he hadn't felt for a couple days. Had it only been a couple days? "C'mon, you're stronger than this. Don't let your fear rule you."

Luffy didn't expect Ace and Sabo to light up after growling in warning at Marco's words. No matter if they were supposed to be nice, Luffy wasn't appreciating his tone of voice. Marco blinked in surprise. Ace and Sabo were grinning ear to ear.

Luffy was angry! He was defensive and irritated with someone for treating him like he was weak! He wasn't acting scared of Marco, but angry! Neither of them knew they could ever be so happy from an angry Luffy. Sabo reached forward and snatched Luffy into his embrace, squeezing him in a hug.

"That's right Luffy, be angry! Marco is being patronizing, don't take that from a human," Ace said strongly, and Marco looked thoroughly confused about where this was going. "Are you gonna let some human come up onto this ship and scare you?"

Hearing Ace saying these things so loudly and brazenly made Luffy surprised for a minute before he started processing what Ace was saying. That's right… some human can't come on this ship and scare him without even meeting him! Luffy had never even see the guy! Why was he scared of him? How embarrassing!

Had he been like this all week? God, he must seem so weak to all the humans on this ship! Luffy glared and nodded along to Ace's words. Sabo joined in, too.

"Why should a big, bad, apex predator be scared of some humans?" Sabo asked, getting back on point to talk about the pirates, and not Lucci. "They already are submitting to you, why be afraid of them? They already wised up and realized that humans are not better than dragons. After their stupid blunder, they removed the bad ones from the situation out of respect for you. Don't let those dirty, stupid humans both get away with attacking you _and_ making you scared of them all!"

"Yeah! That's right!" Ace agreed loudly. Marco was watching with slight amusement, as Luffy huffed and nodded, crossing his arms defiantly. Luffy was a dragon, a graceful and beautiful creature that can both instill wonder and terror. Why the hell would he sink so low as to have the human pirates scare him _while_ submitting at the same time!? What a fool he had been!

Marco watched as the stressed out brothers acted like children, cheering on Luffy for feeling mad, putting down humans, and Ace even grabbed Luffy out of Sabo's arms and tossed him up. Luffy laughed and Sabo saw that Marco couldn't be happier. He sighed, and said, "Well, the dragons are still around, but not rushing towards the ship."

While Ace tickled Luffy mercilessly, until he was squirming around and trying to bite at Ace's hand, Sabo asked, "How will the shipwrights fix up the ship if there are dragons in the water?"

Marco lifted one shoulder. "Well, they'll have to not act aggressive. Let's just hope they're not idiots." Ace had stopped tickling Luffy, who was feeling better than he had in what felt like a long time. He would do his best to not shame his entire species by submitting to unthreatening humans. Luffy was embarrassed, still, but would do his best to be strong and confident.

-x-

Marco supervised the shipwrights working on the outside of the ship while Whitebeard did the inside. The brothers were all in the captain's room, as Lucci's presence scared Luffy, but did not terrify him like before. It looked like getting angry was all Luffy needed, and his brothers accomodated the rest. Whitebeard and the commanders who were around laughed at it. It sounded like a childish thing that the brothers deserved after all the stress.

Namur was in the water to alert the shipwrights who were latched the underside of the boat in suits, if any dragons were nearby. To say some of the foremen were nervous would be an understatement. But, even under intense pressure, they did the job well.

Lucci was part of the team working underwater on the outside of the ship, so he was unable to get to Luffy, even if he was as bad as Luffy had said he was. And was now trying to forget he'd had an episode even if he still felt some fear at his presence on the ship.

The whole thing made Marco painfully curious about what was wrong with Lucci, a mute man who let a pigeon talk for him. He really didn't seem dangerous or particularly scary, but Luffy had had such an intense reaction by his presence that Marco wouldn't brush it off. But, it did raise questions. How did Luffy know? As a human, so far he had shown no signs of anything special or dragon related working for him. Were things starting to work again? Would he have his amazing senses? Would he gain back is designated dragon power, which none of the pirates knew what it was?

Many hours later, the ship was fixed up, and the shipwrights were coming out of the water, some of them shaking a bit after being submerged with the dragons that had been resting around the ship. Marco felt for them. He'd been in the presence of many dragons whose motives were unknown at the time as well.

Lucci came out, looking grumpy, but giving nothing away. Marco hoped he wasn't acting suspicious of the man, since he really had no reason to be other than their resident dragon dubbing him as bad, and stronger than commanders. That had miffed Marco a bit. They were some of the strongest pirates in the world, yet Luffy felt a shipwright was stronger than they were?

It was anticlimactic when Lucci left without so much as a word, his pigeon not talking either. Namur came up and told Marco that the dragons had dispersed a few minutes ago. The danger for now was over, and Luffy had seemed to be doing better. He was acting unafraid and back to cranky. But, Marco knew that they would take cranky and suspicious over terrified. It was up to their crew to not scare Luffy away again. And their bedroom was fixed up, so if they wished to go back to sleeping inside, they could.

When Marco went to Pops room, he found the captain inside with the three brothers, Luffy behind his brothers just slightly as Ace and Sabo played cards with the huge man. Luffy watched, unable to hold the cards well and not getting the rules at all.

The dragon had a blanket draped over his shoulders, looking perfectly cozy as he watched his brothers get frustrated with losing so spectacularly. Whitebeard was laughing everytime Ace scowled deeply, making him even more irritated.

"Luffy, Lucci is gone," Marco said after a small bow. The tension Marco hadn't noticed disappeared from Luffy, and he let out a deep and relieved breath. "Thank you for focusing your fear enough to not have dragons attack," the first mate said. Sabo looked up from his cards and beamed at Luffy. He wasn't smiling but had a proud air around him.

"No one got hurt, which is the best outcome. The ship is fixed, so we can be on our way now. Pops, are we ready to go?" Marco asked, turning from Luffy to his father. He nodded, and excused himself from the card game, which the brothers looked happy about. They must have been losing very badly to be that relieved to stop playing.

Marco gave one last look to Luffy and his brothers, who were both holding Luffy's small hands. He then left to go and help get the ship away from Water 7. He was glad that nothing had happened with Lucci, but the next time they visited this island, Marco would be cautious about the man then, too.


	13. New, Dangerous Issues

**Just want to say to those in countries affected by the coronavirus, good luck and make sure to wash your hands. It's spreading in America and is only going to get worse, so do your best to stay safe and healthy! Some new troubles in this chapter. It's a longer chapter, too. Enjoy~**

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Luffy's head was hurting badly. He had had headaches before in his dragon form, but not yet in the human form. It hurt and he didn't like it, and was grumpier than usual. He had passed through the phase of only fear, and was back to growling, since none of the pirates hated him for it anymore, and it gave him the chance to be himself again. Well, as much as he could be himself in this body.

He sat on the deck, still liking being outside than inside, even if it wasn't because he was scared of the humans inside. He was still embarrassed about the whole thing, and his embarrassment had turned into bitterness at the humans because that was the only way he could figure out to not blame himself for the weakness fully. It was a way to cope, even if it wasn't a very good one.

It had been two days from Water 7, and they and encountered another storm. Luffy had been dragged inside again, and to the captain's room, which he didn't have as being in the room with large windows on the wall made him feel better than in a dark room with just a porthole. The captain was very understanding with Luffy, which made Ace and Sabo happy. Glad that, even after how tumultuous things had been, the man was still kind to the boy dragon. And Luffy recognized that, rarely growling at him or his first mate.

He still scowled with Marco sometimes, but it was rarely personal. The dragon still didn't go out of his way to interact with the pirates, but he also didn't go out of his way to get away from them. It was progress, and any good progress was better than going backwards. The pirates did not break their face of being respectful, even if some were more so than others. The commanders like Haruta, Thatch, Izo and Vista did full bows while most of the rest did the eye-contact bow. Either were fine with Luffy, and Ace and Sabo were glad for any respect in the first place.

They would not let their brother go backwards and be afraid of everyone again. And keeping his fear down also helped keep the ship safe. That was also a reason that the pirates were so respectful. The brothers knew that, but they were showing respect, even if they didn't mean it. Showing it was good enough for the dragon, as long as they didn't speak disrespectfully to him. Well, speak to him at all.

Luffy sat at the mast, rubbing his head with his fingers, though it did nothing to help. "Luffy, is your head still hurting?" Ace asked in concern. Luffy nodded. "We could try and ask for some medicine, but you probably don't want to do that." Luffy nodded again, not wanting to trust these humans with him having a real weakness, the headache.

"Maybe you should try and take a nap," Sabo suggested. Luffy nodded, as it sounded like a good idea. Luffy laid his head down in Ace's lap and fell asleep. Sabo took off his coat and draped it over Luffy, not wanting to get up and go inside to get a blanket.

No dragons came during his nap, which was good, since for the last few nights, Luffy had been woken up by all sorts of dragons to sleep with him. None had stepped on Ace or Sabo like the freaky crocodile dragon.

Ace and Sabo were quiet while Luffy slept, at the back of the ship where no one would visit them unless they had a real reason to. The dragon boy slept for a good hour before he woke up, sighing as the headache had dimmed a bit. It wasn't completely gone, but it wasn't throbbing painfully anymore.

The day was calm, and the brothers mostly were quiet to not bring Luffy's headache back by being too loud. It was cloudy, so the sun didn't hurt Luffy's head. No dragons came the entire day as the ship steadily approached a thick area of fog. It freaked Luffy out, not liking that he couldn't see everything.

Marco had come over to them and told the three that they would be in an area of fog for awhile, and not to panic and shout if anything comes at the ship, after bowing his head a bit. "It's called the Florian Triangle, which is permeated by thick fog. Our ship is big enough to not be messed with if anyone or anything is out there. We've sailed through these waters many times, so there's no need to be frightened."

Ace and Sabo nodded while Luffy wasn't happy with the change in scenery. He didn't like the pressing fog all around them. The dragon couldn't see part of the deck because the fog was so thick.

"It'll get chilly, too, so you may want to come inside tonight. Your room is always open for you if you want it," Marco added, before carefully walking through the fog and disappearing from the brothers' sight.

"I don't like this," Ace voiced after standing in the fog for awhile. Luffy nodded in agreement, though he didn't want to go inside. But, the fog was creepy, and without his great senses, he wouldn't be able to tell if someone or something was coming. Even a dragon coming to visit would probably freak him out as he wouldn't be able to see, hear or smell it.

He wished he could see better. His human eyes were weak and limited. Luffy suddenly hissed and pressed his hands to his eyes, which he had just been thinking about. When he opened them again, the fog started to twist and warp around him, his brothers' bodies twisting and shifting as well. It made him dizzy and worried. Were normal human eyes like this when they had headaches?

"Lu? What's wrong with your eyes?" Sabo asked as he noticed Luffy shutting them tightly. "Is the headache back?" Luffy slowly shook his head.

"Sight look wrong," he answered. "Movin' 'round." Ace shared a glance with Sabo, and the freckled brother asked Luffy to open his eyes. Luffy cracked them open, and was worried when Ace and Sabo looked shocked. "What?" he asked in worry.

"Your eyes look different, Lu. They look how they used to look. Can you see any better now?" Sabo asked, hiding the happiness in his voice. If Luffy would start turning back into a dragon now, they wouldn't need to sail with the pirates anymore. Luffy looked around and blinked twice before scrunching his eyes and focusing on the fog in front of him.

When he focused his sight, it didn't hurt, but if he took his mind off of them at all, he would start hurting again. But, when he did focus, he could see the water drops, and that unnamed color he'd been lacking was back. He looked to Ace and Sabo and saw all the little freckles on Ace's face very clearly, and the small scars on Sabo's cheek were visible.

He grinned, and nodded. "I see better!" Luffy exclaimed, happier than he'd been in weeks. It felt so much longer than only over a month since the whole thing happened. It felt like a lifetime since he'd been able to see even relatively well.

But, he blinked and suddenly it was gone. His face fell and Sabo and Ace reacted as Luffy's irises turned back to looking like human, and not slitted. Luffy pouted, and sighed. "Better gone," he informed them, not knowing they could tell by looking.

"But it's a good sign, right?" Sabo offered. Luffy shrugged but kept the frown on. "You might start getting your dragon powers back." Sabo was trying to be positive about it, but Luffy was upset it had only lasted a few seconds. Ace rubbed Luffy's head.

"It'll work out, Luffy. Don't worry," the black haired teen said with a warm smile to his youngest brother. Luffy rubbed his face on Ace's chest affectionately. Luffy didn't know at the moment if he agreed with Ace's words or not, but having his eyesight come back and then leave almost immediately made him upset and deeply disappointed.

The brothers went inside, since Luffy was back to being practically blind in the fog, but didn't tell anyone about what had happened. It was none of their business what had happened, and it didn't affect them so it didn't matter to them.

The brothers headed to the galley, as Ace and Sabo were very hungry and it was almost lunch time. Luffy didn't have an appetite at the moment, so lost in his disappointment. He hoped that everything would be okay. He didn't know if Ace and Sabo really thought this would work out, being helped by the Whitebeards, but Luffy wasn't sure. He was hoping, but he was making sure that he didn't expect everything to end up alright only to be crushed if something went wrong.

Most of the crew were already there for lunch, and Luffy's food was waiting for him on the counter. He had never eaten chicken before being on the Whitebeard's ship since they were much too small to fill him up in dragon form, and chickens weren't exactly abundant in the jungle. But, it was yummy enough, though Luffy prefered the deer.

His lunch was a mix of chicken, beef and fish. Not thrown together particularly well, and Luffy saw that Thatch wasn't in the kitchen today during the meal, which was a surprise to all three. Ace asked Marco about it when they were going to go back to their room to eat, as they couldn't go outside at the moment.

"Thatch is not feeling well and didn't feel up to cooking lunch," Marco explained. Luffy realized that his food wasn't "pretty" because it wasn't Thatch who cooked it. Everyone, including the guests, knew that Thatch was a perfectionist, and spent so much of his time making the food _look_ good, too. Well, Luffy's food wouldn't matter as it was mostly raw fish and barely cooked beef. The chicken had to be cooked a little bit, so it wasn't Luffy's favorite, but it was edible.

Luffy was looking around the room, trying to see if his good sight would come back if he tried hard enough. It was like the snap of a rubber band when his usual vision came back, and took him by surprise, dropping the plate of food. The sound was so sharp that Luffy's ears hurt. He made an "oh" noise, before Izo hurried over to help him pick it up. He was so distracted by the sudden clear vision and sharp sound that he didn't react to Izo almost touching him.

After a long time of seeing with human eyes, everything was incredibly distracting, like the dust that drifted through the air. Izo lifted his head when Luffy didn't react, and saw his eyes, looking surprised.

Ace and Sabo set their plates down and hurried over. Luffy looked up at them, and they didn't seem surprised to what happened. Of course they knew what the problem had been, just by Luffy's distraction and _not_ retaliating against a human being so close. "Are you okay?" Ace asked. His voice was too loud, and Luffy almost covered his ears, but didn't want to make a scene. He'd already made one enough with dropping the plate.

Izo was collecting all the pieces on an empty plate, and Sabo took the food, which was on another plate, to wash off. Since it was mostly raw, it was easy to rinse off. Sabo had a feeling Thatch would never allow Luffy to eat food off of the floor, but they weren't about to waste it.

As soon as Luffy's food was back on another plate, the three left the room in a hurry, not giving any explanation, though Luffy's slitted pupils and unusually bright blue irises gave away that _something_ was different.

The three hurried to their room, Luffy feeling dizzy and uncoordinated. When they reached the door, Ace opened it, since Sabo's hands were full of his and Luffy's lunch. Luffy sat on the bed and closed his eyes. The room stunk of human food, stronger than it had been before. Were all of his senses coming back at full? Could a human even have senses like this? Was Luffy going to get sick?

"How are you feeling, Lu?" Sabo whispered. Luffy was thankful he made his voice quiet. Luffy shook his head, that he wasn't doing well. "What hurts?" Sabo continued to whisper, which Luffy smiled at. He loved how much his brother knew him. Knew what to do for him, even when he didn't or was unable to communicate verbally.

Luffy didn't speak, but gestured to his ears, eyes and nose. So, everything was uncomfortable. "Do you feel better in here? It's quieter and darker," Ace said, also whispering. Luffy nodded, and slowly opened his eyes. "They're back to normal now," the teen said, but still in a hush.

"Bad smell," Luffy said, gesturing to the plates of human food.

Sabo frowned. He knew Luffy had always dislike the smell of cooked meat, and even more so the food Thatch made for humans, but it was never this bad for him. As a dragon, Luffy would make a grossed out face and then move on. Now, Luffy was plugging his nose like he was going to be sick.

Did it have something to do with Luffy being in a human's body, now? The thought had Sabo deeply worried. What if the human body couldn't handle dragon senses? And what if Luffy got his ice powers back. He didn't have a devil fruit and wasn't a witch right now, he was a small, human child. Would it be too much for his body? Sabo was sure no one would be able to give a proper diagnosis but he was very confident in what he thought about this.

A few minutes later, Luffy was seemingly back to what was normal right now, eating his food and looking fine but for the worried frown on his face. Sabo hadn't voiced what he thought, but Luffy wasn't stupid. He might have made the worrisome connection, too. The teen looked to Ace, who was clueless about it.

When Luffy was napping later that day, before dinner but hours after lunch, Sabo left Luffy to Ace in their room, since the ship was still shrouded in thick fog. Sabo was nervous and worried, and heading to the infirmary. He wasn't injured or sick, but he had questions that he felt would take too long to search for in the library.

Out of the three brothers, Sabo was the most trusting of the pirates. Ace and Luffy had always had trust problems with strangers, even Sabo was suspected for awhile until young Luffy had said he thought Sabo was a good kid. Ace trusted Luffy's judgement, even if he did agree that Luffy was overly suspicious of the pirates _before_ the attack.

Sabo may not be comfortable leaving Lu alone with any of the pirates, but he did not expect them to kill Luffy. Ace agreed, but still was less trusting than Sabo was. When Sabo reached the infirmary, he found one of the nurses that Ace had cussed at once. Tami. She was nice enough, so he approached her.

"Sabo!" she said in surprise. "Is everything okay? Are you hurt?" she asked in concern. Sabo looked completely fine so she believed him when he said nothing was wrong with him. "Well, then what can I do for you?"

"Do you have any books on how human eyes and ears work?" Sabo asked politely, his nervousness left at the door, waiting to show itself once he left the room. Tami looked surprised.

"We have many books about human body parts," Tami answered, and went to a wall full of books, from the floor to the ceiling. She pulled out two thick books, and handed them to Sabo. "If you have any questions about Luffy specifically, ask Marco. He's done quite a bit of research since you three came." Sabo nodded in thanks and took the old books to the library, where he could research in peace while Luffy slept.

Two hours later, Sabo ahd skimmed most of both books, and sighed. There was barely anything useful he read. Luffy was hearing nothing close to 85 decibels, so nothing should be hurting his ears like that. The sound of something shattering would startle you, but it shouldn't bring you physical pain at the level Luffy reacted to.

As far as the medical books said, you can't have "too good" vision. Luffy's eyes could have reacted to bright light, but neither the light in the fog and ceiling lights as bright as they usually were should make his eyes hurt that bad. There was nothing to say that too good vision was detrimental, meaning this was something unique to Luffy and his situation.

Since these were well loved books, clearly having been used countless times, Sabo trusted what they said. There was no need to ask any of the nurses in person about this. Plus, Luffy didn't want any of the humans knowing he was weak. Sabo didn't need him to tell him to know that. It was common sense that Luffy wouldn't want to show potential enemies any weaknesses they could target.

Sabo didn't want to have to ask Marco for help, as he wanted to keep this as private as possible, but Marco was a smart guy and probably was already where Sabo was. Luffy hadn't been subtle in the galley earlier. He sighed and brought the books back to the infirmary and left before Tami or Whiskey asked any questions.

Sabo knew where Marco's office was, and expected him to be there since he wasn't tending to the brothers, there was no trouble on deck since everyone was inside, and it was not meal time. The room's door was propped open, and Sabo heard the sound of writing on paper when he knocked on the doorway to be polite.

Marco was wearing glasses while he sat at his desk. It was a messy room, which surprised Sabo. Though, as first mate and commander, he had to have a lot of work to do. "Hey, Sabo. What can I do for you?" Marco clearly noticed that Sabo was alone, and there was probably a reason for that.

Sabo walked in and gently pushed the door shut behind him. Marco gestured to the seat in the corner of the room. "Tami said you did a lot of research on dragons, and you're already a head doctor," Sabo said slowly, not really wanting to just dive into the problem. He hoped Luffy wouldn't be upset with Sabo going for help. But, if Luffy needed it, then he needed it. And Marco would be his first choice if he was forced to make one.

"I did and I am," Marco said patiently. "Does this have to do with what happened at lunch today?" Sabo nodded. "Care to explain?"

"His vision, hearing and sense of smell skyrocketed today so much so that they were painful. I looked in the medical books and found no way that there was such a thing as _too_ good vision. He also isn't listening to anything nearly high enough decibels to cause intense pain. And I just don't know about the sense of smell," Sabo explained quickly. Marco was jotting down notes on a piece of padded paper.

"Also, when his vision got better, his eyes changed color and the pupils become slitted. I think, and I ave a feeling Lu does too, that his dragon senses could be coming back sporadically and his human body can't handle them."

Marco was pursing his lips, not a good sign to Sabo. He was hoping his suspicion would be debunked quickly and he'd have a better, less worrisome answer. Marco put his glasses down. "I think that's a very probable explanation. We all know dragons have better senses than humans. No matter how trained someone will make their senses, they will always pale in comparison to most animals and dragons. And Luffy is not normal now, so you could be right. For now, since I won't even suggest Luffy take pills from us, I'll give you some sunglasses and earmuffs for his ears." Marco told him to wait for a moment while he left to fetch the things.

When he came back a few minutes later, he had a small pair of sunglasses and some simple headphones. "Since he doesn't like being inside, the sunglasses should help the most, and whenever it gets too noisy for him, have him put the earmuffs on." Sabo took the objects and thanked Marco.

"Are we almost out of the fog?" Sabo asked. Marco shook his head and told the teen that they'd be in it for at least another full day. The blonde sighed, but thanked him again and left, heading back to their room, where Ace was waiting with Luffy. Lu was still sleeping, so Ace had stayed with him, even while Sabo was gone for over an hour.

When Sabo set the objects on the bedside table and sat down, he explained that he'd gotten them from Marco, and not to tell Luffy that Sabo had gone for Marco for help. The brothers sat quietly for awhile, before Sabo found the paper in the drawer and started doodling pictures of how Luffy used to look. He missed his dragon brother. Luffy was beautiful when he was a dragon. Sabo had always wanted to do a painting of him, but it wasn't like it would be practical to waste money on painting supplies when you don't have a home to hang it in.

Luffy woke not long after Sabo came back, and asked if the fog was gone. "Marco said we'll be in the fog for at least another day. After that, I heard that Sabaody island is our last stop before going past the Red Line," Sabo explained patiently. Luffy pouted deeply, and looked outside the porthole window and into the dark sea.

The dragon boy was quite used to seeing sea life outside of this window whenever he had the misfortune of having to stay in the room. So, it wasn't a surprise to see a little hoard of dragons clumped together and sticking to the glass. Luffy hadn't been able to hold these ones before, but they looked squishy and soft. None of them faced the window and were looking at Luffy, so they could be sleeping. He wouldn't tap on the glass and bother them.

"These are for when your eyes or ears get too sensitive," Sabo said and held up the objects. Luffy didn't know what they were and just looked from them to Sabo in confusion. "These are sunglasses. You put them over your eyes and it dims everything so the brightness doesn't hurt. These are earmuffs. They're for muffling noise and keeping the ears warm once it's cold."

Luffy took the objects and put the sunglasses on upside down at first, before fixing them and then putting the muffs over his ears. Ace chuckled at how silly he looked. Luffy glared at Ace, which had Ace laughing more. The dragon took the things off and set them on the bed before bringing his legs up to curl into a ball.

Ace and Sabo knew he wouldn't admit it out loud, but Luffy was scared. A different type of fear than he'd been consumed by with the humans.

"It'll all work out," Ace said quietly, sitting next to Luffy and pulled his head to his chest. Luffy sniffled, and mumbled, "Wannit be over."

"We know. We're getting closer. Only a few weeks left. Just gotta push through it to the end," Ace assured. Luffy hugged him, his lower lip wobbling but not crying. Crying was embarrassing, even in front of his brothers.

-x-

Marco kept a close eye on Luffy for the last couple of days, and said nothing about the problem to anyone but Pops. he knew keeping secrets had been bad before, and he'd learned from his mistake, but this was more like doctor-patient confidentiality. His brothers would at least understand that, though if that was true then he shouldn't have told the captain.

The fog had happened two days ago, and the three were now frequently taking breaks with Luffy in the dark, not always their room. Sometimes they'd go into the storage room on the ground floor just for a few minutes, and then would come back outside for a few hours. When Luffy's eyes weren't hurting, Marco was sure he was able to see better, as he was getting increasingly often distracted by things that Marco couldn't see, even with his phoenix senses amplified.

Luffy looked silly when he wore sunglasses and earmuffs, but they seemed to be doing the trick. No one asked him why he was wearing them, because they didn't want to get growled at, but the commanders were restless without knowing, and not knowing who gave them the objects, since none of the brothers had said who'd done it.

When they reached Sabaody, the commanders had decided to keep the brothers on the ship except after the coating was done. If something happened and they needed to flee, then having the ship primed and ready to leave was the best option. Not that anyone thought Luffy would up and attack anyone, but there was the situation of dragons flocking to him.

It might seem suspicious and the dragons might retaliate, with Luffy in the middle, if any pirates saw them. The dragons, so far, had gone against their nature to stay away from humans. Marco had never known they could be so curious.

But Saboady was a busy place, and the presence of dragons would surely not go unnoticed. He hoped that nothing would go wrong. And it was an added trouble that the island was packed with marines. The Moby Dick was not easy to conceal, the biggest ship in Paradise. Maybe smaller to Big Mom's chanting ship, but the Moby Dick held more people on it. Bottom line was that it was so big that it was near impossible to conceal.

Marines weren't keen on attacking a yonko crew, though they were constantly monitored. Izo and Haruta were the ones to find Rayleigh and ask for his service to coat the ship before they headed to Fishman Island.

It had already been a month since finding the three in that storm, and many weeks since the attack on Luffy and subsequent damage to the ship, and Luffy was no longer terribly afraid of everyone, but he was also no more social with the pirates. No matter how many times Izo and Thatch tried to interact with them. They were hurt with every time they were ignored, and looked at suspiciously.

But, neither gave up, which seemed to bother Luffy a bit. They were very persistent, and Marco didn't have the heart to tell them that, by now, that was useless. Unless they saved his brothers' lives somehow, Luffy would not befriend the pirates. It just wasn't happening. It was sad, but that was the truth of the matter.

The three said they were fine with staying on the ship, but did want to see the bubble city on the last day. It took a couple days for the log pose to set, so it wouldn't be so different just staying on the ship, only that the scenery wouldn't be changing and the pirates would be on the lookout for marines.

When Marco told Luffy there were very few wild animals on Sabaody, and none big enough that it would be worth the trouble to hunt, the dragon was visibly disappointed. He had wanted to try hunting with Ace and Sabo, gain some confidence back, but Marco had shot that idea down. Poor kid.

The three days of staying on Sabaody were surprisingly unremarkable. The ship wasn't coated yet, since the pirates were still coming and going on the ship, but it would be soon. No dragons visited Luffy during this time, and he wore the necessary accessories a lot of the time now, whenever he was outside and the sun was bright.

Marco had to enforce the rule that the brothers were not allowed to sleep outside when docked at the island due to safety reasons, and it pissed Luffy off. He had growled at Marco, something he hadn't done in a long time. But, reason was on his side, as Ace said, "We don't want to be attacked out on deck, or have marines come. We also don't want dragons to come and be vulnerable to the bad humans on the island. Right? So, it makes sense to stay inside at night."

Luffy pouted and crossed his arms grumpily, still hating to be told what to do. But, it was for his safety and Marco would not cave on this. So, he grumpily stomped inside to bed every night once the sun went down completely and pirates retired, save for those on watch duty.

-x-

Without being allowed to sleep outside, the brothers spent the nights and evenings in their room, where Sabo took advantage of having books to read to Luffy and Ace. It always put Luffy to sleep, which was odd since he always wanted to hear the whole story. It was a time that showed the old Luffy. The excited Luffy who looked forward to new things. He was entrapped in the stories Sabo told that Luffy had never heard before. Well, Ace hadn't either, but he wasn't nearly as interested in the books as Luffy was.

Luffy was wearing shoes for once while they set food on Sabaody. He was entrapped watching the bubbles come out of the ground and float up. He experimentally poked one with his finger, and it didn't pop. Sabo and Ace laughed when Luffy casually tried to eat one, wondering if they tasted good. The didn't, but they didn't taste like soap either.

More like some sort of gooey plant. Marco was their chaperone while the rest of the crew were on the ship, which had been coated thoroughly. It had taken the coater, Rayleigh, over fourteen hours to coat the entire ship, and it got him paid a pretty penny, too.

Luffy and his brothers were lead away from busy areas by Marco, who already knew where they would be going and not going. They could hear the sounds of Sabaody Park, but had no desire to be in a place that incredibly busy. Luffy would not do with that.

The four were in a clearing that had tons of bubbles coming out of the ground for Luffy and his almost-adult brothers playing with them. Luffy got stuck inside one, and Sabo and Ace tossed it around while Luffy screamed or laughed. It was hard to tell, and all three knew that Marco was shocked by this change in behavior of all three.

Back at their home island, when it would snow, they'd have snowball battles. While Luffy was unable to use his hands delicately to form snowballs, he usually used his tail to bat them away so he didn't get hit and lose. But, it had been awhile since winter and they had gone a long time without being able to play like children.

The brothers seemed to forget that Marco was there, as he was completely ignored while the brothers played. They eventually turned to target practice, throwing rocks at bubbles to see who had the best aim. It was no surprise that Luffy lost at this. He had bad aim, and wasn't used to throwing anything overhand.

It was an hour into their goofing off that something amazing happened. Luffy was sitting down on the spongy ground when an especially big bubble came out of the ground, which soon turned into the shape of an animal and became solid, a shimmery pink color. A bubble had turned into a dragon. Well, the dragon had turned into a bubble.

Luffy looked at it in awe, as did the other brothers. And Marco too, had clearly never know there were bubble dragons on Sabaody, no matter how many times he'd been on the island. The dragon floated around Luffy, not needing to flap its wings, which looked more like decoration than use.

Soon, all of the bubbles in the clearing turned into dragons, swirling around Luffy curiously. Ace and Sabo backed away, carefully through the swarm of bubble dragons. They watched as the bubbles played with Luffy, who was beaming the smile he seemed to reserve for his own kind. Luffy jumped when the bubbles all popped loudly. He looked fearful for the dragons, thinking they had died, before they reformed.

Flowing through the air like otters flowed through rivers, they popped sporadically, and Luffy was no longer worried that it was anything bad. A few of the bubble dragons cuddled into Luffy's face, squishing his cheeks as they rubbed their faces against his. None of the dragons he'd interacted with had been this overly friendly besides the little ones that sometimes visited to sleep together.

When it was getting darker outside, the bubble dragons turned into bubbles once more and floated away or returned to the spongy ground, where the brothers wondered if there was some home underground or if they stayed intangible while they weren't on the surface.

Everything was going perfectly, and they were on their way back to the ship, from the furthest grove from the one the Moby was docked at, ready for them to descend to their next destination. Luffy was in a good mood. He was swinging both of his brothers' hands before the three stopped in front of a line of bowing humans.

Marco hurried in front of the brothers and herded them behind a tree. They were surprised to say the least, and confused. "Don't say a word, and stay behind the tree," Marco said firmly. But, it was too late.

"Hey! You human trash, you bow to us!" a snobby voice said loudly. A loud and frightening snarl ripped out of Luffy's throat at being accused of both being human and trash. Ace and Sabo weren't happy either, but Marco turned them all around and ran.

"Marco! Why are we running?" Sabo asked, though he ran, too. Ace was following Marco's lead as well, throwing a defiant Luffy over his shoulder, as he didn't want to run fron stupid humans. A gunshot sounded and it whizzed right past Ace's head, hitting a tree in front of him. Ace had been shot at plenty of times, but never with his back turned like this.

Luffy struggled to get out of the grip and do something to retaliate against the bubble-headed jerks. "Those are people we don't want to mess with," Marco explained, but couldn't help but whip around when he felt dozens of sudden presences. The bubble dragons.

The brothers and Marco watched in sick fascination as the large bubbles, not in dragon form, flowed directly at the bubble-headed idiots and consumed them. The snobby men and women struggled in the bubbles as they sucked closer and closer until the bubbles were coated around them like a second skin.

Suffocating the humans. Because they had shot at Luffy. Marco was gaping in horror, as the trapped humans died, not having enough oxygen for too long. The bubbles popped and the men and woman fell to the ground, lifeless. "C'mon, let's go!" Marco shouted, pushing the teens forward, Luffy still in shock over Ace's shoulder.

Marco grew tense when the bubble dragons flowed around them, swimming through the air as the four made their way to the coated ship. They could all hear the screams of panic from the civilians as they fled the scene, just like Marco and the brothers were.

Luffy had no idea who those bad humans were, but was glad they got punished for being so disrespectful. He felt nothing for them, not even pity, when they died. They almost shot Ace, his precious treasure, and that deserved punishment.

When the four made it on the ship, Marco loudly told everyone they needed to get going as soon as possible, and he'd explain later what had happened. The brothers were unsure with the footing on the spongy jelly-like bubble surrounding the ship. Someone jumped overboard and triggered something that inflated the bubble to cover the entire ship, passing through everyone standing on deck.

The bubble dragons popped at the edge of the island, unable or unwilling to follow them into the water. Ace and Sabo were shaken from the event, and after putting Luffy down, asked Marco what the _hell_ that was all about. But Marco had been shouting to the crew on what to do as they submerged deeper. He was breathing quickly, clearly shaken by what had happened.

Marco explained what had happened to Whitebeard, who made a glance at Luffy of concern that didn't go unnoticed by the trio. Luffy frowned, and wondered if they were mad at him. He didn't ask for the dragon to retaliate, but the stupid humans had attacked first!

The first mate finally started to explain, attracting some commanders by Marco's worried demeanor, and curious pirates listened from afar. "Those humans were called Celestial Dragons. Not real dragons, they just take the name." Luffy was predictably outraged by _humans_ calling themselves dragons. Those human scum were nowhere close to as good and pure as most dragons were.

"I wanted us to hide so Luffy wouldn't attract their attention by now bowing. So, when they noticed us and you growled, I had us run for safety. I was not counting on the dragons to take care of them, and that startled me. I'm not mad at Luffy, because he didn't ask them to and they did so out of protection. Plus, the world is better off without scum like them." Luffy was relieved he wasn't being blamed.

"Wait, there are dragons that live on Sabaody? Since when?" Thatch questioned. Luffy became uncomfortable in the crowd and pushed his way through, harshly, and to an open part of the deck. Ace had followed, but Sabo stayed behind to listen to the conversation.

"You okay?" Luffy asked. After all, Ace had been close to being shot in the head. It had to be scary.

Ace rubbed Luffy's hair. "I'm fine. I couldn't see, but what did the bubble-dragons do?" the teen asked curiously. Luffy was still shaken about Ace nearly being shot, and rubbed his face against his chest affectionately before replying.

"Take bad hoomins 'n bubbles an' kill dem. No air," Luffy explained. Ace looked surprised. The dragons seemed pretty harmless when they were playing with Luffy. That was also a very unique way to kill. He heard everyone in the crowd shout in surprise at hearing they'd probably seen thousands of dragons and not known what they were.

Luffy turned to the surroundings of the ship to see the dark waters all around them. "Pretty," he commented quietly. Ace looked around in wonder as well. It was beautiful. they couldn't see anything at the bottom, where they were heading. And while Luffy may find it pretty, he was also feeling a bit claustrophobic in the dark. They could see alright because there were bright lights situated around the deck and the sunlight still reached them, but he had no way to escape.

Of course, he couldn't escape when they were out on the sea, since he was missing his wings, but it had been a phantom feeling. That he could fly away if necessary. But now, he was utterly trapped on this ship.

Ace seemed to understand his feelings, and put his strong arm around Luffy's skinny shoulders. "I have a feeling this bubble is a lot stronger than the bubbles you were playing with. Otherwise, no one would make their way this way." Then, he switched subjects. "So, being on the island didn't hurt your ears or eyes? It was pretty sunny."

Luffy shook his head. "Was distracted. Not focus on it," he replied. He had been so focused on the bubbles and dragons that he didn't even notice if his eyes changed or ears hurt. Ace put his thumb to his chin in thought.

"So, it hurts more when you think about it?" Luffy shrugged, not sure if that was the case all of the time. Sabo approached the two not much later.

"How are you feeling? Both of you?" Sabo asked, sitting down and leaning against the railing, looking at the surface of the water above im that was rapidly getting further away. It was still light enough to see easily, though the lights on deck did help.

Luffy nodded, he was fine, and Ace said, "Just glad that Luffy has dragon allies. I bet that fake-ass dragon would have kept shooting and hit one of us." Sabo agreed. They probably wouldn't have stopped. And after what Sabo heard of those humans, they deserved death.

"Apparently no one knew of the existence of the bubble dragons until today," Sabo explained. "They really are horrible people that deserve to die. I don't say that lightly, and you both know that. But I hope the bubble-dragons won't be bothered after this."

Ace sat down and Luffy was sandwiched cozilly between his big brothers. "Well, they are intangible, and live in the ground. Should be fine," Ace replied. The three were quiet for a bit, just watching the water and fish swim around the ship's bubble keeping them alive.

"Don't touch the bubble. It won't pop that easily, but it would be best to not mess with it. And don't try to get out of the bubble or you'll be crushed to death by the pressure of the water with how deep we are and how deep we are going to be," Sabo explained. The sound of the sea around them, and everyone's quieted voices for some reason, Luffy was drifting in and out of sleep.

Ace and Sabo let him sleep for awhile before the first dragon appeared. It would be best not to let them get impatient, as they could pop the ship's bubble in no time if they wanted. After all, a dragon had drove through multiple feet of wood with its head.

"Lu, the first guest has arrived," Sabo said, shaking Luffy awake a bit. Luffy yawned and looked around before seeing the white dragon gliding down next to the ship, its back facing the ship as it's eyes looked above it at Luffy. This dragon was about the same size as Luffy had been. "Hey, he's the same size as you," Ace commented, sharing Luffy's thought.

The dragon looked at Luffy closely, before spinning in a circle and swimming up and over the ship, before going down the side and up and under the bottom of the boat back to where it was before.

Ace and Sabo noticed that everyone had gone inside when the first dragon appeared. It made sense. It would be worrisome to see something that could rip apart the bubble letting them live swimming so close to the ship.

An hour later, four dragons were swimming alongside the ship, curious about Luffy, but knowing to not touch the bubble. Marco had come out, and was watching in awe as dragons swum around the ship, not seeming hostile in any way.

Everything was going fine until a massive deep sea fish with sharp teeth was swimming towards them quickly. Luffy shouted in surprise about it, and there was nothing they could do to move the ship out of the way, when the same dragon (Luffy _knew_ it) that had dragged Luffy into water once, that was bigger than the Moby Dick, intervened and swallowed the deep sea fish whole.

The other dragons scurried away from the big one, though it didn't hurt them, and soon the massive creature was following their descent too. Luffy grinned and waved his hands. The dragon let out what would sound like a snarl to anyone else, but Ace, Sabo and Luffy knew the sound well. It was one of greeting, a low growl with a warble to it, the same one Luffy made every time he reunited with his brothers after a hunt.

Luffy didn't expect it to pop the bubble, since it hadn't injured the ship to get Luffy out, just tipped it over until Luffy fell into the water. Marco stood rigidly still behind them before slowly making his way inside. Sabo chuckled at it, and now the three brothers were the only ones in the dragons' companies.

Ace and Sabo could only imagine how uneasy those with haki felt during their descent. Large and dominating presences around and coming towards the ship. But Luffy loved it, so happy to see fellow dragons in their natural environment. How they gracefully turned and twisted in the water, like Luffy would when flying in the air.

Luffy's brothers were unafraid as long as Luffy showed he cared for these two humans. They felt safe being near Luffy, and when Luffy showed them affection, it signaled to the dragons that they were treasured by him. The dragons followed them for a good hour before a pod of beaked whales swam by, the dragons dispersing to hunt them.

Soon it was only the three brothers and various creepy fish out on deck. Marco came out a few minutes after the dragons had disappeared from sight. Luffy was in a spectacular mood, his smile still on, though it was softer than his earlier grin. He was very content, even if the dragons had left to go eat and hadn't come back yet.

"There won't be anymore dragons for awhile," Marco said, surprising the brothers. They hadn't noticed him come out, as he made very little noise. "There are no types of dragons that live this deep. The bottom feeder ones only stay at the ocean floor." When Ace and Sabo looked at him in confusion, Marco said, "I've done my research."

He walked over and sat on Sabo's side, a few feet away from the teen. Luffy hadn't looked up at Marco, wanting to ignore the human as best as he could, but was drawn into the information Marco had given. He was a bit sad that he wouldn't get to see anymore dragons anytime soon.

"You know, even though there's been quite a bit of stress and tension since you guys came on - no offense - I'm glad we found you. I never knew anything about dragons compared to what I know now. They're beautiful and complex, and I can't wait to see Luffy in dragon form. We'll get you fixed up, I swear on my life."

Luffy reacted by saying, "Hoomins still bad." Marco sighed, though Sabo could tell it had an air of fondness, which surprised him, since Luffy had been everything but helpful in adjusting himself or any others to the situation. He could be seeing into it too much and Marco just found Luffy's utter defiance a bit amusing.


	14. Arriving at Fishman Island

**Sixcupsofcoffeetogo: Thank you! And thanks for binging some of my stories and leaving kudos!**

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**This chapter they get to Fishman island! And there's some funny parts with Luffy's bad attitude. We meet new characters, so enjoy~**

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Seeing the dragons swimming peacefully along the ship had been amazing, even if he had left for most of it. Marco had been in awe of the giant beasts, who were wise enough to not touch the ship, knowing the bubble was keeping Luffy alive. It wasn't that dragons were against touching the ship, especially now, with Luffy on board. They had climbed onto and bumped into the ship countless times, but they knew not to do it now.

When Marco felt the dozen of so presences leave, some very small and the one that was bigger than the entire ship, he waited a few minutes to make sure they were gone for now and headed outside.

Marco had made the trip to Fishman Island both directions many times, so he and many other veterans on the crew knew by telling the time how deep they were. And they were at a depth now that you couldn't see much outside of the bubble.

The three could probably only have seen a couple of the many dragons, and were now laying on the deck and looking up. Marco could barely see Luffy's content smile. Ace and Sabo looked content, too. Probably because Luffy was in a rare good mood. Marco didn't want to ruin it, but he also wanted to explain to them how things would go at Fishman Island. For Luffy especially.

First, he told them about not seeing anymore dragons anytime soon, and expressing his desire to turn Luffy back into a dragon, and wasn't surprised Luffy fired back with something not so nice, his walls back up in an instant, though he didn't give off any feeling that he wanted Marco to leave or he'd be angry.

"I have to talk to you three about how things on Fishman Island will go. I'm assuming you have never been there, and are not familiar with Fishman politics?" Marco asked. Sabo shook his head, and Ace was looking in interest now, too. Luffy continued to watch the sea, which was completely black now.

"Things between Fishmen and humans aren't good, and never have been. They are also not good with dragons. Fishmen that live in the open waters have a respect for dragons and know that they don't attack Fishmen on purpose, and rarely ever inflict a wound or casualty, but those living in the city limits think that dragons are one of their greatest enemy. Centuries of isolation away from all types of dragons make them suspicious and hostile towards them."

All three brothers were frowning in disappointed ways. After all, Marco just said that fishmen didn't like dragons even though most had no interaction with them. Namur dealt with Luffy and an angry dragon in the water just fine. Marco could understand why their faces made that expression.

"The problem isn't with Luffy being a dragon, as you are trapped in human form," Marco explained. He was making sure to appear submissive and not overly familiar, looking at the floor whenever Luffy looked to the side. It had become as normal and easy as breathing to act proper for the dragon child.

"The problem is that none of you are knowledgeable on how to act with fishmen, who hold a deep grudge and animosity towards humans of all kinds. Even children, like Luffy appears to be. Those fake dragons that were suffocated and shot at Ace often hold fishmen and mermaids as slaves." Sabo and Ace were frowning deeply, while Luffy seemed to be hung up on the dragon part, which was more personal to him than human politics.

"If Luffy growls, or glares at any of the citizens, mermaid or fishmen alike, they will see you as a human being discriminatory towards them because you look like a human and they hate humans. So, Luffy, you need to be careful down there. They don't know you're a dragon, and for the best. We will make the trip as quickly as possible, but the ship will need to be recoated and you will have to come off for that," Marco explained in depth. It was important that they didn't make anyone angry.

Ace and Sabo would be fine, but Luffy hated humans, and now that he heard that fishmen were bad to dragons too, well, he hated them as well. Whitebeard had spoken to Marco about explaining it, and this was the best way, both assuming Luffy would come to hate fishmen for their own views on Luffy's kind.

In fact, no one would better understand how Luffy felt than fishmen, both prosecuted and looked down upon by much of the human population. Luffy hated humans for hunting and caging his kind, and fismen hated humans for killing, demeaning and enslaving their kind. But, they were pitted against each other for their views on dragons.

It was a triangle of hate. Fishmen hated humans and dragons. Humans hated dragons and fishmen. Dragons hated humans and Luffy hated fishmen. It was unfortunate, but it was what it was.

"Fishmen island is a beautiful tourist destination, but it is also dangerous. And you three will need to stay with one of our commanders, most likely me, to make sure you stay out of the dangerous, human hating areas of the city."

Marco knew he might anger Luffy, but he had to say it. "All kinds of fish creatures are not to be eaten, Luffy." Sabo grew angry first.

"Are you saying you think Luffy can't control his appetite? That he will eat some sort of sea creature, sentient or not, while it was alive?" He was angry that the possibility of Marco thinking that was there. Marco did his best to calm the situation, as now all three of them were angry.

"No, I am just saying that there's no stealing fish. I don't expect Luffy to want to eat anybody. You just can't eat fish down there unless it is served to you specifically. And there are many beautiful seashells and coral, but they all belong to the city. Luffy can't swipe them without consequence, and for the sake of you, and our crew, we don't want angry fishmen."

Luffy growled, hating when he was denied treasure. And also, he had been holding back from stealing from the pirates, so he could be fine with not stealing from other fishmen. Ace said all of this indignantly.

Marco put his hands up, still calm despite the angry teens and child at him. "I'm really trying to not be offensive, but I need to stress that humans and fishmen don't mix well, and you need to be careful with how you act. Especially since you're sailing with our crew, who has the island under our protection and is part of our territory. We can't have anyone thinking negatively about us, and it's easy to do." They were still glaring at him, and Marco wished he hadn't had to ruin the mood with the truth, but it was necessary.

"What 'bou Namur?" Luffy challenged.

"Namur has been sailing with us for awhile and understands what dragons are _really_ like. After all, he hasn't lived in Fishman Island for decades. It won't be the same with other fishmen as it is with him."

Luffy pouted angrily, looking back at the black ocean, probably wishing to see another dragon before they went into a dragon hating and human hating place. Luffy would be hit twice as hard by being hated in both forms.

Marco was sure something was going to go wrong, but at least he warned them ahead of time. Ace and Sabo just had to keep control over their brother, who now already had a bad view of fishmen. Marco would have preferred not having to tell the truth, but doing that would be detrimental to the trust between the three and the crew, as well as having made things more difficult without them knowing what they needed to know.

"Best behavior you guys," Marco reminded them. "We'll be there in a couple more hours." Luffy was glowering and Ace and Sabo looked perturbed. Marco didn't like being the cause of those faces but it was necessary to tell them everything. He went inside feeling bad, however, for ruining their moods.

Well, after Fishman Island, it's only a few days to their destination, and Luffy can finally be happy again. If everything went to plan. Marco lamented not having a transponder snail to Robin, but they never really talked personally. She was someone that was protected under their claim of her island, so she was friendly with them. Marco wished they knew for certain that she'd cooperate.

If she didn't, never again would Luffy or his brothers ever trust the Whitebeards, after they would have been giving them false hope and dragged them into the New World. But, Marco did his best not to think like that. Everything would be okay.

-x-

Two hours later, the Moby Dick was docked inside Fishman Island and Luffy was _not_ looking forward to being anywhere near people who hated his kind. And they hated Ace and Sabo, but with Luffy it bothered him more. Because they had no reason to hate dragons! They got enough of that from the humans, why do fishmen need to hate them too?

He was in a very sour mood, and Sabo and Ace were trying to keep things together as best as they could, to not have Luffy cause a scene. He was wearing the sun glasses, since the light was so bright down there despite being at the ocean floor. His earmuffs were resting around his neck, as it wasn't too loud where they were.

When Luffy saw the first fisman, he wondered why on earth any dragon would want to eat one of them. They looked just like humans, but were different colors and had strange features to their faces. Luffy could understand a dragon being confused with a mermaid for _a second._ But then they would see the human half and be turned away.

Luffy wanted to know how many fishmen a dragon had actually eaten without provocation. Probably none! Dragons don't find humans tasty, fishman too, or Namur would have been eaten and no human would ever set foot in the ocean! Oh, he was steaming at this and everyone noticed it. He gave off a very hostile aura, which he hadn't in awhile.

Marco was their chaperone, and he didn't look happy with the job as he had to watch over an extremely irritable dragon. That was never good. Part of the reason Luffy was offered the glasses was also to hide his nasty glare from those he'd inflict it upon. And they were many, as they walked through the town, many fismen were glaring at them.

And Luffy didn't hesitate to glare back. Damn fishmen judging all dragons like humans judged them. Hypocrites, all of them! Ace and Sabo hadn't seen Luffy this angry in a few weeks, even angrier than when he heard humans called themselves dragons. Both brothers held one of Luffy's hands, as he was distracted by the glares of the fishmen and mermaids and with the beautiful pearls and coral everywhere that he was having trouble ignoring.

This was not going to be a fun trip. For anyone, really. Luffy was angry at everyone and Ace and Sabo didn't want to cause a scene and mess everything up. But they couldn't get to the palace, where Whitebeard and the commanders were welcomed, without walking in front of everyone. There were some humans around, but fishmen and mermaids dominated the area. Humans were just sprinkled throughout.

Three fishmen, all looking very different, came over on bubbles. Luffy recognized the bubbles form Sabaody and almost shouted at the fishmen, before Marco quietly and quickly informed him that they were not bubble dragons. They came from a bubbly coral that you blow through. Luffy unbristled, but still was grumpy.

Sabo and Ace sighed, sending Marco a grateful look for catching it before they did. The brothers recognized these fishmen as royalty based on their appearance. The fancy clothes that Sabo hated seeing, even if they looked different than his own old home's residents looked like.

"Hello, Whitebeard-san," the blue haired mershark man said, the bubble wrapped snugly around his waist. Luffy couldn't imagine not having legs. It was hard enough to not have wings or a back tail to balance himself, but no legs? To have to use a bubble? How inconvenient that was.

"Good to see you, Fukaboshi," Whitebeard said jovially, sounding respectful and genuinely happy. "How are things going? We have gotten no message from you from enemy pirates, so I assume things are going well?"

Fukaboshi nodded, which caused the commanders to smile. Luffy continued to look at Fukaboshi skeptically. This guy was royalty, right? Why didn't he teach his citizens about what dragons were really like? Luffy scowled at him, and Ace and Sabo were sweating uncomfortably, as Luffy's gaze was full of hate and suspicion.

Fukaboshi glanced to the brothers, and Ace, not so casually, stepped right in front of Luffy to block his expression from being seen by the merman. "Who are these?" the royal asked curiously, thankfully not seeing Luffy's expression.

"Some strays we picked up and are taking them someplace safe," Whitebeard said. Luffy dared not growl at his words. If there was one person, one human, that he would not disrespect, it was Whitebeard. Any of the commanders were free game for him to glare or growl at. "They have a bit of a temper, so don't take anything too personally."

Fukaboshi looked confused but nodded. Luffy turned his head form the man, looking at everyone else crowding around them with accusing eyes hidden by the sunglasses. Luffy didn't hear when Sabo asked Marco for something shiny right now. He pulled out a gold coin from his pocket and handed it to Sabo discreetly.

"Luffy, look," Sabo said, and handed Luffy to coin. It was very shiny, so it would have Luffy attention for maybe five minutes. In those five minutes, they'd get somewhere where Luffy couldn't cause a scene with his grumpiness.

Ace saw Marco give a definitive nod to Whitebeard and they branched off, heading to the palace while Whitebeard stayed with Fukaboshi to talk about the state of the island. There were still many fishmen around, and mermaids on bubbles, and Luffy was successfully distracted by something shiny and new.

However, it didn't last forever, and they were right about at the palace door, Marco trailing closely behind, when Luffy's attention was brought away from the coin he finally put in his pocket. A big sea king was swimming in the distance, seen through the multiple bubble walls. Just barely, but it was there.

"Hey! Why no mad at dat?" Luffy asked, pointing in the direction that the sea king had left in. The three with Luffy looked surprised by the outburst, since Luffy rarely spoke unless he was asked something or was forced to respond. "Sea kings worse dan dragons," he insisted. Luckily, Marco had just ushered the teens and dragon inside before he made a scene.

"Because sea kings target everyone. Fishmen or human. These people think dragons go after fishmen only," Marco explained patiently. Luffy crossed his arms and huffed. They were all surprised by just how _offended_ Luffy was. Maybe it was also because these fishmen were all uspet about discrimination and then they turned around and did it right back to an innocent species. A peaceful race which minded its own business.

"Luffy, please behave," Sabo pleaded.

"I not a kid! I behavin fine!" Luffy snapped. Ace and Sabo gave him a deadpan look, and he frowned deeper. "'M fine," he insisted a bit quieter.

They were inside a big hall, and Luffy finally said, after a few minutes of silence. "Dey hypocrites!" he raged, startling the other three with the outburst. A few guards looked around the corner at the steaming human child. "Dey say hoomin bad to dem but dey mean to dragons!" Luffy's words were rushed and slurred. It was causing attention, as Luffy was being very loud and his shouts echoed down the hallway.

"Luffy," Sabo scolded in a hiss. "We know how you feel, but you're acting very improper and rude. We don't want to cause trouble for the Whitebeards, right? This place is important to them, we don't want it to make them look bad."

Luffy, however, was not interested in being scolded for voicing his opinion now that he could. "Stupid hoomins, stupid fishmens. Only dragons are good," Luffy insisted. Marco was worried when Luffy's loud voice was bringing attention to the guards, and probably the worst one to walk in on them came, not that Luffy knew who he was. Sabo and Ace recognized him as probably being the king of the island due to the crown on his head.

Luffy was clueless until Marco bowed, and said, "Hello, King Neptune," awkwardly, sweating nervously.

"Oh, hello Marco. Is everything alright over here?" he asked, looking curiously at the two teens and a red faced little boy, wearing sunglasses with ear muffs around his neck. It was a good thing Luffy looked younger than his age. It could be passed off by a cranky child.

"You! You king?" Luffy demanded. Ace and Sabo tried hushing Luffy, nervous, but Luffy couldn't care less about the ruler of some foreign species. One that was instilling badness for Luffy's kind. Luffy respected Whitebeard because he was intimidating and was helping them kindly. That, he could respect. But he didn't care about this guy.

Luffy didn't want to harm the Whitebeard's reputation, but he was angry with the fishmen and merfolk. Marco had realized by then that he should have kept the issues quiet, and explained them if necessary.

"Yes…" King Neptune said, sounding and looking puzzled with the child. He glanced to Marco, who had an apologetic look on his face.

"You misrepresent dragons!" he shouted, pointing his finger rudely. Ace and Sabo would have been impressed with the pronunciation if they weren't worried about the king's response. They didn't know what kind of ruler this was, and here was a human kid yelling that he was not ruling correctly.

Neptune looked very confused. "Dragons sometimes attack fishmen, young man," Neptune said patiently, surprising Ace and Sabo.

"Not on perpus!" Luffy responded heatedly. But King Neptune kept his calm, which the teens and Marco had to give him credit for. It was difficult dealing with an angry Luffy, especially when he was able to speak and yell, too. Not just growl.

"Not on purpose, but it is hard to change an entire species' view on something that has been instilled and ingrained in their society for centuries. I admit, I have never met a dragon-activist," Neptune said jovially. Luffy was confused by the response, but bit back.

"Try harder, den!" he commanded. Luffy felt unsure, not expecting to be treated back like this. It threw him off.

"I will try harder, but I have no evidence to give my people that dragons are not harmful at all to us." Luffy's response fizzled away, and he tried coming up with something to respond, but nothing was coming and he was just left confused. If the king was like this, then why did the fishmen think dragons were so bad?

"May I ask who you are?" Neptune questioned. His subjects were steaming behind him at the kid's audacity to speak to their king that way. And they had heard him call fishmen _and_ humans stupid.

"These are Ace, Luffy and Sabo. We picked them up when they were in crisis and are taking them someplace specific in the New World. I apologize for Luffy's attitude, he's in a bad mood," Marco explained. Luffy huffed indignantly and glared at Marco for treating him like a child having a tantrum, even though that was what it looked like.

"It's fine Marco, I take no offense." The fishman behind the king did not agree, and hushed that he _should_ take offense. Whitebeard companion or not, Luffy had been very disrespectful to the king.

"Stupid Marco," Luffy grumbled. The phoenix sighed, but was as glad as Sabo and Ace were that Luffy's outburst had seemed to pass without landing himself in very hot water.

"Is there a reason you chose a different route than your captain and crew?" King Neptune asked while the three boys walked behind he and Marco. Luffy was glaring at any of the guards that gave him an angry look. Challenging them, daring them to say something. But they didn't, and kept their silence while the king walked past.

Ace had his arm around Luffy's skinny shoulders protectively, but also firmly so Luffy didn't _physically_ misbehave. He'd already taken the cake as, probably, the most disrespectful kid the king had ever met. But, he had quieted down completely, and walked in silence.

"I think you've just seen why we came separately," Marco said quietly. "I really do apologize for his behavior. He has special circumstances," the commander said. Luffy didn't hear them, but Sabo did. Marco was saying just enough to not seem overly suspicious, but also not giving too much away.

To be honest, Ace was having trouble not laughing about the whole thing now that the worst seemed to be over. Luffy honestly sounded like a bratty kid, instead of the outraged dragon that would have been seen as much more intimidating if he wasn't in the body of a human child. And Ace and Sabo knew that this frustrated Luffy.

He had never been taken lightly. Even back on the ship, he was respected. Now, here he was being talked about behind his back, and being treated as _less_ than an equal with the king. No human could convince Luffy to care about the human political system. He hated humans, so he wasn't going to listen. He only listened to Ace and Sabo but they were his brothers, not counted with evil humans.

Fishmen were now seen as lower than Luffy because he was a dragon, for goodness' sake, and he wanted to be treated like one! It was extremely frustrating that he couldn't insist to these people that he deserved to be treated as equal.

As he was steaming, he then cried out in pain and held his hands to his eyes. Everything was exponentially louder, too. The clacking of their shoes on the tile floor of the palace. Ace gently set the earmuffs over Luffy's sensitive ears. He kept his eyes closed, so he couldn't walk forward and Sabo lifted him up into his arms as he focused on dimming the sensitivity of his senses.

King Neptune watched in confusion as Marco asked if Luffy was alright. Luffy nodded, despite the earmuffs being on. Sabo supported Luffy's back as the dragon kept his eyes shut tight. He didn't like not seeing his surroundings in an unfamiliar place, but he was in Sabo's protective arms. While Luffy is down for the count in this clumsy human body, he trusted his brothers.

A few minutes later, Luffy's eyes were open again, for once not liking how shiny his surroundings were. And how was it so bright at the ocean floor?! It didn't make sense to the dragon, or his brothers for that matter.

A few minutes later, and Luffy was back to walking, holding both of his brothers' hands and feeling pathetic. The castle was too big and he didn't want to have to walk anymore, but he also didn't want to seem weak and have to be carried. He'd already fumbled in front of the stupid king. Plus, he had been in pain in front of someone he thought could be an enemy, and Luffy wasn't okay with that.

He shrunk into himself while they walked, tuning out the conversation and just feeling very sorry for himself and his situation. He glanced up at his brothers, feeling even worse for annoying them, or not listening to what they were saying. The dragon slowed his walking to a stop, halting his brothers whose hands he was still holding.

"Lu? What's wrong?" Sabo asked discreetly, Marco and the king continuing to talk and walk. Luffy didn't answer, and looked like a kicked puppy.

"Sorry," Luffy muttered. Ace and Sabo hadn't seen such a sorry sight in awhile. It was different than when he was feeling terrified, because right now he was himself. When he was terrified, he was only part of himself, the part that reacted extremely strongly to fear and panic. Now, however, he was just defeated.

Ace hugged him. "It's okay, Lu," he said gently. Ace was reminded of the lost and devastated dragon he'd first seen. This was what Luffy was when he really thought about his situation. Lost. Marco stopped walking, and called for them to follow. He was looking at Luffy in pity, but turned around when Luffy started walking again. Sabo was glad Marco didn't let the dragon see that pity. He was getting enough by himself and his brothers already.

Luffy walked with his hands gripping Ace's arm tightly and rubbing his face against his bare arm. The brothers saw the guards look at Luffy in a strange way, but the three ignored them, and just followed the first mate through the halls, not paying attention to what the man and merman were talking about. It didn't matter to them right now.

Ace and Sabo focused on making their brother feel better, even if it was only through physical affection and touch.

The five met up with the rest of the crew in a massive meeting hall, bigger than the galley in the Moby Dick, which held sixteen hundred people, so this place must hold even more. Neither King Neptune nor Marco mentioned Luffy's bad behavior and melt down, which Luffy was secretly grateful for, as were his brothers. It showed that Luffy did have a temper and if he got that angry around dragons, who knew what would happen.

The three sat down in the corner or a small bench while the pirates milled around and talked to the fishmen princes and king. Whitebeard seemed close with the king and was talking jovially when a much smaller woman, who looked like a human in a dress, arrived. She had an injured hand.

"Otohime, it is good to see you," Whitebeard said with a polite bow. Maybe she was the queen. Luffy looked away, utterly uninterested in the politics of fishmen. He took the earmuffs off around his neck and fiddled with the thick fur of them while Ace and Sabo talked quietly. They were distanced quite a lot from all the other humans, and Sabo looked up when he felt eyes on him and his brothers.

Otohime was staring at Luffy, a puzzled look on her face. Sabo made sure to distract Luffy so he didn't growl at the blatant eye contact. Being snippy with the king may not have set him off, but disrespecting his wife might. Plus, Whitebeard and the rest of the crew was around. It would look bad to them if Luffy acted up here.

"Luffy, what do you want to do first after it's broken?" Sabo asked in a cheery voice, gaining Lu's attention easily.

"Fly," Luffy said simply. "Hunt, eat," he added. Ace and Sabo smiled and he smiled, too, looking so forward to not being a stupid human anymore. He couldn't wait ill he didn't need to talk anymore. He could roar his impressive roar and scare off birds that flew from the treetops. He could growl and snarl in a way that wasn't pathetic. He could play with his ice powers, make sculptures.

"Bored hoomin," the dragon expressed.

Sabo chuckled. "I guess it is boring without any devil fruits." Luffy nodded.

"I wish I had a cool devil fruit," Ace said. "I'd never really thought about it before, but after meeting Whitebeard and Marco, though we haven't seen Whitebeard's, having a power would be cool. I just don't want to get stuck with a stupid or useless one. How do you tell them apart, anyways?" Sabo and Luffy shrugged in response.

"Who are they, Whitebeard?" Otohime asked, gaining the brothers' attentions. Ace looked down to see Luffy dawn a scowl, but Ace grabbed him and turned him.

"Those are some kids we picked up and are taking to an island," Whitebeard explained. Luffy grumbled a being called kid. "The youngest one is very feisty and easily irritable, so don't take anything personally."

Sabo began to sweat when King Neptune said, "He sure is. Apparently, I'm not doing good enough with positively representing dragons." He laughed at it, which ticked Luffy off, but Ace tried to distract him. At least no one was mad at Luffy for his temper. Luffy forcefully turned his head to the side against Ace and glared at the king and queen.

Luffy had been dead serious when he criticized the king for portraying dragons badly, and here he was acting like it was a joke. If Luffy weren't in a human child's body, as a dragon he'd be taken much more seriously.

With King Neptune's words, a few of the commanders had blood drain from their faces, thinking of young Luffy telling off the king. After all, Marco had specifically explained to the three why they needed to be on their best behavior. Luffy glowered, and bared his teeth at the queen, who was looking at him funny.

Everyone was surprised when Otohime closed her eyes and bowed her head to him from the distance. Luffy lost the scowl and just watched curiously. King Neptune looked confused. "Otohime, why are you bowing to him?" he asked in shock.

"Nevermind, it is not crucial to know," Otothime said. Marco looked at her in interest, and Sabo and Ace wondered if she had senses like Marco did, how he knew something was off with Luffy from the start. The two brothers were impressed that she specifically stayed away from saying "It's not important" and instead saying that the information was not crucial.

After being shown respect by the highest authority, Luffy was less cranky, some of the anger having come from being treated like a testy human child earlier. He behaved better the rest of the day they spent there. Luffy was still stand offish, but he wasn't blatantly disrespectful. Sabo had overheard the queen telling her many guards that they were not to show contempt or disrespect towards Luffy. It really made Sabo curious about how much she knew. And she hadn't told her husband.

Luffy ate raw fish until sea king meat came in. Luffy had never had sea king meat before, or seen any actually, since dragons had been hanging around the ship so much that the sea kings had stayed away. The meat was cooked just like steak would be. Luffy had his very rare, and enjoyed the meat a lot more than anything else besides deer.

It was too bad he wasn't a water dragon because then he could hunt sea kings, too! But, Ace and Sabo wouldn't be able to live under the water with him. The humans were all getting drunk, and it irritated Luffy. He nudged Ace and Sabo and gave them an unhappy look. They understood what it meant, and they stood up from their empty plates to ask Marco if there was someplace they could go to get away from all the drunk pirates.

Marco was unable to get drunk like his brothers could, but it didn't mean he didn't drink. Otohime walked over, either eavesdropping or happening to hear the three wanted some space from the drunkards. Otothime lead them away with Marco's permission, giving Luffy a look that asked him to behave. Luffy huffed a bit, but didn't growl.

Otohime lead them down the hall and to a room that had fluffy couches along all of the walls. Luffy sat down on one, Ace and Sabo sitting on either side of him. He eyed the queen warily, as she was just standing there and looking at him.

"What?" he challenged, not appreciating the staring. It was rude.

"What happened to you?" Ototime asked curiously, while also seeming genuinely confused. Luffy didn't reply, not knowing whether he should answer or not. After all, fishmen, and mermaids, hate dragons. What if she tries to kill him while he's vulnerable? And if he fought back, he'd be attacked anyways after looking like a human that killed the mermaid. So, he stayed silent. "I can tell you are not or are at least not fully human. Please, tell me your story," the queen said with another bow of her head.

"Why?" Ace asked, sounding suspicious. "What does it matter to you?" Ace wasn't comfortable with a stranger almost knowing the truth, and was also worried like Luffy about her learning Luffy was a dragon. The dragon hadn't thought of this, but what if the Whitebeards get in trouble for bringing a dragon someplace they were prohibited? After all, there were no dragons here, so they were clearly not welcome.

"I am curious. I will not tell anyone else, not even my husband. And, I may be able to help you," the queen offered. Luffy looked to Sabo, who had stayed silent but was giving her a calculated look. After a long moment, Sabo nodded, feeling they could trust this lady.

"Witch curse me," Luffy said simply.

"You're a dragon, right? That's why you were upset over dragons being seen as bad here," Otohime assumed, though it was correct. Luffy nodded his head, but was glowering at her, daring her to do something. "Have you been with the Whitebeard's long?"

"A couple weeks," Sabo answered. "Our home island caught on fire and we got stranded in the water, the Whitebeard's found us and took us in. They are taking us to one of their protected islands where a witch can break the curse." Otohime had sat down on her knees on the ground in front of Luffy.

"Have dragons been following you this whole time?" the queen asked. Luffy nodded. "There are some resting around the island." The three brothers looked surprised. Marco had said that dragons didn't go this deep unless they were a certain kind, and that dragons rarely neared fishman island.

"No attack unless you firs'," Luffy insisted. Otohime nodded, and said she felt none of them were hostile, just resting outside of view of the bubble. Only she out of everyone on fishman island knew they were there. She said that even Whitebeard hadn't seemed to notice.

"May I ask why you were cursed?" Otothime questioned slowly, respectfully.

"Luffy ate the witch's horse. He didn't know it was domesticated," Sabo explained. "Are there any witches here that would be able to fix him?" It would be so convenient to be able to just have him fixed up here. But the queen shook her head, disappointing all three brothers.

"Only humans can be witches," she replied. "I'm sorry we can't be of better help. And I am sorry you have a negative view of all fishmen based on our prejudice from things most of us do not understand." She sounded sincere, but Luffy was still miffed a bit. Not angry anymore, but just irritated that the queen had admitted defeat basically and was not trying to change the public's opinions of the gentle giants.

"I wish I could show you that we fishmen and merfolk are not all bad, just like not all humans are bad," the queen expressed. Luffy had no interest in learning more about their kind. It didn't matter to him.

"Don' matter to me. I no water dragon. Nefer see you agin," Luffy said. Otothime frowned at this, and Luffy's brows furrowed.

"It does matter. It matters what people of all kinds think of us. It matters what people think of you, as a dragon, or your brothers as humans. It matters not that you might never interact with us again, I do not want any of you to dislike fishmen without knowing more about us," she insisted.

Ace spoke next, saying, "We know Namur. He saved Luffy and trusted dragons enough to dive into the water and interact with an angry one. Luffy knows not all fishmen are bad, but doesnt like that all of those on this island are afraid of or hate something that is no danger to them," the freckled teen explained. Otohime looked relieved that Luffy didn't hate all of them.

"Would you like to explore the island? Having me by you will keep less friendly residents from harassing you," Otohime offered. Luffy was about to decline, before Ace spoke.

"Lu, we haven't been able to explore someplace new for weeks. It might be fun, and maybe you can keep some sea shells that we find," Ace said cheerfully. "Don't tell me you want to be stuck indoors when you can explore someplace you will never, ever, have the chance to explore again."

Sabo agreed, and with a smile said that he thought it would be interesting as well. Luffy frowned, but finally agreed. Otohime beamed, and lead them back through the hall and to tell the Whitebeards that she would be showing the brothers around the island to try and change Luffy's point of view.

The pirates were surprised to say the least, that the queen would be showing the boys around, knowing that Luffy was a dragon who was already not fond of the island and had a bad temper. But, Whitebeard said he trusted Otohime and the brothers to not cause trouble. Ace and Sabo agreed, while Luffy kept a straight face. He tried to be excited to look around, but he really couldn't see his view of the island changing.

The queen lead them out of the castle and down to the city. Guards followed, but at a reasonable distance where Luffy wouldn't feel uncomfortable. Ace and Sabo were much more interested in what the queen was saying about their kingdom than Luffy was. Luffy was easily distracted by all of the bright colors, even through the sunglasses he was wearing, so he didn't pay much attention to what the queen and his brothers were saying.

Luffy was glad his brothers were having fun, Sabo was becoming extremely interested in the civilization. The dragon looked at all of the different looking people, fishmen and merfolk, with a bland eye, wondering why they thought dragons would find them tasty. They were mostly built almost exactly like humans were, just some different features and skin color.

But, the citizens were much more polite with their expressions to the brothers when the queen was there, which Luffy was glad of. He hated people giving him looks like he was a human, something he still found humiliating.

"There was once someone here that could speak to dragons, Luffy," Otothime said once they were in a more secluded area where she could talk freely. The fishmen guards were still there, but at a reasonable distance, only watching the group and not listening. This gained Luffy's attention immediately.

"Well, there have been multiple people since the dawn of time, but I only know of one. Posiedon was a mermaid princess. She could communicate with sea kings and dragons. Poseidon was able to command the sea kings to do things, but we all know that a dragon won't be told what to do by someone else. But, they were still able to speak to one another. No mermaid princess has the power of Poseidon right now, but there will be one in the future," Otohime explained, finally gaining Luffy's interest, which she smiled about.

"I don't know how long a dragon's lifespan is, but I feel that the dragon who Poseidon first spoke with is still alive. It was a huge one, bigger than the entire Fishman Island. Have you come across any big ones on your journey?"

Luffy nodded his head. Sabo spoke, though, and said, "There is one that has followed the ship for quite awhile. It was larger than the ship, but not larger than this whole island. That one had wanted to see Luffy so bad it pulled him into the water to play." Sabo sounded fond of them. "I wish more people saw how wonderful they are, but the Whitebeard's know now. At least the captain and commanders."

"Yeah, they've been harmlessly visiting Luffy, boarding the ship and trying to cuddle with him to sleep. It's been really amazing. And apparently nobody knew that Sabaody, that island before here, was infested in dragons," Ace said. Otohime looked shocked. She clearly hadn't known either.

"Really?" she asked, not believing that no one had known until now.

"Yeah. They can transform into the bubbles all over the place, so they are hidden in plain sight. They played with Luffy for awhile, but got upset after a Celestial 'dragon' shot at us. It wasn't pretty, what happened," Ace explained. He didn't want to go into detail about what had happened, not wanting the queen to think badly of the dragons.

But, she was curious now. "What happened?" she asked seriously. "Do not worry. Though I don't agree with anyone killing someone else, be it human, fishman or dragon, if those bubble dragons have not been discovered yet, they have posed no harm to the public. You can tell me," the queen said kindly. "If you really don't wish to, I will not force you."

Saying that made the brothers comfortable with telling her. "After they shot at us, aiming at Luffy who glared at them, the bubble dragons appeared and trapped the humans in the bubbles until they suffocated. Marco made us run to the ship and now we're here," Sabo explained.

Otohime sighed sadly. "I wish that all creatures could live together in harmony. It is my dream to have humans and fishmen respect each other. I want us to be able to freely see the sun without the worry of humans attacking or demeaning us. I know it will probably not happen in my lifetime, but it is my wish for the future. It is hard to change someone's view, though. Especially when there is such hate between humans and fishmen. But someday, I hope we can live together under the sun," she said wistfully.

Luffy was watching her with wide eyes. She was very nice, better than any human he'd ever met besides Ace and Sabo. But, she wasn't a human, so he couldn't say that there was a pure human out there.

"Hoomins are bad," Luffy insisted.

Otohime looked at him kindly. "Not all. Your brothers are not bad, and they are human. The Whitebeards are not all bad, and most of them are human as well." Luffy shook his head.

"Hoomins attack me on ship. Bad, inside. Ace 'n Sabo no count," Luffy said strongly. Otohime smiled sadly.

"As I said, it is difficult to change ones' point of view when the relationship between them is full of hate. As a dragon, you have every right to hate humans for what they have done over the centuries, but we all need to know there are exceptions. There are some terrible merfolk and fishmen out there, but we are not all bad. Just as not all humans are bad," Otohime insisted. Luffy didn't agree, but didn't want to argue with her, so he said nothing.

Sabo spoke to the queen while Ace and Luffy searched the area for pretty seashells, with the queen's okay. She and Sabo spoke about fishmen politics and how they interacted with the World Government, which Luffy didn't care about and Ace thought it was boring. The two brothers had a contest to find the shiniest ones.

Once they had each collected as many sea shells as they could hold, the two met up and compared, Luffy insisting his patterned ones were prettier than the smooth colored ones. "Well, they all go to you, anyways," Ace said with a smile, and stuck all of his sea shells into Luffy's short's pockets.

Luffy beamed at all the new treasures and cuddled Ace's face. He hadn't been given so many treasures in a long time, not since he was changed into a human. Sabo and Otohime watched with a smile.

Ace and Luffy were continuing to explore the clearing when Otohime sadly asked, "Luffy is not always upset, is he?" After seeing Luffy show the affection to Ace he just did, it was clear that he was not always grumpy and hostile.

"No, turning into a human has damaged him greatly," Sabo replied sadly. "Ace and I hope he can go back to his old self once the curse is broken. We don't know what we will do if it is not possible to break it.

"Luffy finds humans, and now himself, disgusting and evil after his family was killed by them in front of him. He lost his mother and siblings to humans' greed. I don't think he will ever be able to look past that, and Ace and I try not to force him to," the blonde teen explained. Otohime had tears in her eyes at the story, and Sabo was surprised to see a stranger care so much.

Ace and Luffy eventually came back to the bench and Luffy looked at all his new treasures. He wished he could just store them in his stomach like normal, because the pockets were heavy now. He'd put them away in their room back on the ship. It was getting later, and Luffy's stomach started to rumble.

"Ready to go back, Lu?" Sabo asked, and Luffy nodded. He was sleepy after all the walking, his bipedal legs tired. But, just as the four stood up, Otohime shorter than both Ace and Sabo, but taller than Luffy, the dragon's senses went into overload and he heard a click somewhere in the distance.


	15. When Things Fall Apart

#### rel: cliffhangers are the worst unless you're writing them lol.

####  **Sixcupsofcoffeetogo: thank you! I love all of your comments on my stories. There are quite a few to binge, and they're all finished or going to be finished! I'll never leave you hanging. ;)**

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**This chapter is the last long one, the next two are a bit shorter and then it's over! My college is probably canceled but they haven't told us yet so I'll have lots of time to write I guess. Stay safe everyone, and listen to your health officials.**

**This chapter is a little graphic, but nothing too bad. Includes injuries and angst/hurt comfort. Enjoy~**

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**-optional read: I want to do a little rant since I have no friends or family that get this. I'm so irritated with authors on fanfiction or ao3 who write dozens or even hundreds of stories and haven't finished any of them or instead update yearly. And say at the beginning of the story that they have it finished and then it's just hanging there for years. If you're not gonna finish it, please say so in the first chapter so you don't leave readers who are really into your story just hanging for years with no update. I get that things happen, and a story can die on you. I have tons of unfinished stories that I never post since they are not finished. I'm not trying to sound bitchy but please tell your readers in the first chapter "hey, sorry but this story isn't working out. I left it up for those who want to read but it's never going to be finished." It's just** **courteous** **to your readers. Rant over-**

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There was a click somewhere in the distance. He recognized the sound from so long ago. It was a gun. "Gun!" Luffy suddenly shouted, but the guards were too far away and Ace and Sabo were in danger! Luffy didn't know where the gun was coming from, or who it was aimed at, but suddenly they were surrounded by ice, a loud cracking noise coming from the outside of the ice, as the bullet hadn't gone all the way through.

Luffy's eyes changed and he growled, spikes appearing when he smelled the scent of gunpowder. Ace, Sabo and Otohime were shocked, and Luffy fell to his knees and moaned in pain at his burned hands. The fingers looked like they'd been eaten alive by frostbite. His head hurt, his eyes burned, and he was in a lot of pain.

The palace guards ran to the area with the ice spikes and where the gunshot came from. There wasn't a huge crowd, but the screaming and gunshot brought onlookers. The ice dissolved, as Luffy wasn't able to control it well, and the brothers paid no attention to whoever shot at them, as Luffy was in pain and needed help.

Otohime stood and ran to where the attack had come from. It was a fishmen of some kind, but the brothers didn't care, and Sabo picked Luffy up to ask anyone to take him to a hospital. Sabo and Ace grew furious when no one would help them, as Luffy was crying from the burning in his palms and fingers, and had a horrendous headache.

"Help us!" Sabo raged, angrier than he'd been in weeks. Otohime eventually came running, and shouted for a medic to help him.

"He's a human, Queen Otohime! Who cares?!" a fishman asked, though he showed respect to the queen, who grew angry.

"This child just saved my life from one of our own! Get him _help!"_ she shouted.

Luffy was barely aware of anything but the burn in his hands, but didn't hesitate to correct the fishman. "N-not hoomin," he growled out. He wouldn't be accused of being a human. And he didn't do it to save Otohime, he did it to save one of his brothers, not knowing if either one of them were in target. The queen was just lucky to be next to him.

He didn't say it, but if Otohime had been away from Ace or Sabo, he would have protected them, and she might have been out of luck. The fismen and mermaids watching looked at him angrily, probably taking his words and giving them some other meaning. Medics came over, and laid Luffy on his back while the guards insisted they get the queen out of the area, as the attacked could have accomplices.

"No! I will stay with Luffy and his brothers until he is alright," she protested defiantly. The guards wouldn't take her against her will, so they formed a circle around her and the boys. Luffy's hands were wrapped in warm washcloths. He was treated as if he had frostbite on his hands. It looked painful to Ace and Sabo and was painful for Luffy.

"Lu, you saved us," Sabo said quietly, and pet Luffy's cheek softly. "We're all okay because of you." While Sabo was comforting Luffy, who looked sleepy, Ace was staring at the ceiling of the bubble in worry. It looked the same as the real sky, but he could see big shadows moving behind it.

Luffy was hurt. Were dragons going to come? It would make all dragons look bad and get the Whitebeards in trouble if any dragon came to try and help Luffy but ended up popping the bubble. Otohime was looking at the sky as well, also having a worried expression. When she was asked what was wrong, she refused to answer.

Luffy had fallen unconscious, and Otohime's face relaxed a fraction. "They're still there but are not making any sudden moves to come closer," she said quietly to Ace. Sabo was still looking worried at Luffy's small and frostbitten hands. They must be in a lot of pain. Humans were so fragile. And Luffy had been injured by his own powers.

"How thick is the bubble? Will it pop from pressure from outside?" Ace asked in a hush so only Otohime could hear. She shook her head.

"If any of them do make a move, it will not pop the bubble but they may be able to get inside if they can breathe in the air," the queen replied.

"Last time Luffy was attacked and got an injury, a dragon bust through the hull of the ship and pulled him out and into the water. They're extremely protective over Luffy and his safety. I think we should get him away from anyone who wishes to hurt him," Ace explained. Otohime agreed, and Luffy was lifted onto a stretcher.

The princes, Fukaboshi and two other ones the brothers hadn't met, came over in a hurry on a bit eel.

"Mother, what happened?!" Fukaboshi demanded. She said that she would explain on the gondola. Luffy was carried up by two guards and Sabo turned around to see a very large and fat blue fishman in a kimono, standing over a cuffed and bleeding fishman who had tried to shoot queen Otohime.

Ace had his head out of the window of the gondola as he tried to see if any of the big shadows were making any move to enter the two bubbles. Luffy was still asleep, but Sabo had a very bad feeling about this. Otohime was talking to her sons about what had happened, when Luffy started to convulse on the floor, where the stretcher was laid out. Sabo didn't try to hold him down, not wanting to risk giving him a panic attack or wake him up terrified, which would not bode well for anyone if the dragons felt he was being threatened, however they knew these things.

Luffy's hands started twitching, and suddenly jagged bony claws pushed out of his fingertips. They were blue and scaly, like his original hands had been. Blood dripped from them as the human skin tore to let out the claws. He screamed in pain, eyes flying open and showing his old eyes. There weren't even anymore whites of his eyes. It was all bright blue except for slitted pupils.

They were unseeing though, as Luffy was lost in the pain. Next, his canines started to elongate into fangs too big for his mouth to handle, and Ace and Sabo were both panicking fully. "Someone knock him out!" Otohime shouted, uncharacteristically to her sons. Fukaboshi did so and turned Luffy on his stomach so he could chop the back of his neck and knock him unconscious.

Though, even when he was asleep, the claws and teeth did not change back, and his eyes stayed the same as they closed. Tears were streaming down Ace and Sabo's faces, seeing Luffy in so much pain and unable to do anything to help. Ace turned him back onto his back as he used the wet washcloths to run the water over the fingers and wash away the copious amount of blood on them.

Unless Luffy had magic healing abilities, his fingers were ruined. The tips were unnaturally long and sharp, and the brothers couldn't see him being able to use them anytime soon. Oh Luffy… And though nothing was causing him many more pain at the moment, patches of his skin started to take on a blue hue, blue and shimmery.

"Mother, what is going on?" the fishman prince that had an eel's tail asked.

"I will explain once we get to the palace and once Luffy is in good care." The queen then turned to Ace and Sabo, who looked devastated and worried out of their minds. "I am sorry. This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't come out with me."

"With all due respect, if we hadn't come, you'd be dead. Someone tried to kill you. You can at least be thankful to Luffy," Ace snapped. It surprised the queen, since Ace had been very respectful the whole time, but she didn't take it personally. People often got upset and angry when a loved one was gravely injured.

The princes were clearly about to scold him for speaking so disrespectfully, but Otohime put her hand up to stop them before the spoke, sending them a meaningful look. Ace went back to Luffy. He woke up again, but he wasn't screaming, just moaned in pain at his fingers and awkwardly placed teeth that gave him trouble closing his mouth. "Ace?" Luffy asked, sounding garbled as he tried to talk around the teeth.

Everything was in extreme detail. He could see every pore on Ace's face, and the wetness in the corners of his eyes. It had been a long time since he'd seen like this. Even when his eyes began to be sensitive just recently, it hadn't been this detailed. "Wha' happind?" Ace put his hand on Luffy's cheek softly, avoiding the blue area in case it was sensitive to the touch.

"You saved us and used your ice powers. It did something bad, and now you've transformed back into a dragon in some places. Your eyes, some teeth, and fingers have changed. That's where you hurt. We're taking you back to the palace to get some help," Ace explained quietly, though loud enough for Luffy to hear just fine. He didn't want to give Luffy a headache if his ears were also sensitive.

"Am I gonna die?" Luffy asked in a whisper.

"No, you're not gonna die. We're gonna get you help, and we're almost to the end. It's the first island in the New World. We're almost there, you're almost back to normal," Sabo assured him, a much better pretender than Ace, who was terrified. Sabo appeared confident and positive, but it was all they could do. Otohime said fishmen and merfolk were not witches, so there was no help here for him.

When the fish arrived at the palace, Ace and Sabo picked up the stretcher and hurried inside. Otohime was running after and the palace was in outrage over someone trying to assassinate the queen. No one had much detail, so they had no idea what Luffy had done.

The pirates were there, and Marco and Izo shouted in horror to see Luffy's appearance. He looked frightening, and his hands were covered in blood. Marco ran over, and demanded to know what the _hell_ had happened. Sabo explained it quickly, and Whitebeard hurried over, too. The commanders stayed back besides Marco and Izo. Luffy didn't know what he looked like, so didn't know what would make the blood drain from the pirates' faces.

Luffy was taken into the infirmary quickly, and Marco was there, the only person with any idea about dragons. But he didn't know how to fix this. No one did. The first thing that was done, though, was to bandage Luffy's fingers. Very, very gently, they were each disinfected and washed clean, then wrapped after a salve was spread across the area.

Marco then had an unsure expression on his face. Looking at his own hands and then at Luffy's deformed ones. "What is it, Marco?" Sabo asked, as he was sitting next to Luffy's bed.

"Do I have permission to try something to heal Luffy?" he asked seriously. Sabo nodded, trusting him and having no other idea how to help. Anything was welcome.

Marco lit his hand on fire, the blue flames that were also feathers. To Luffy, they looked incredible as he could see them so clearly. He was a bit out of it due to the pain and was feeling light headed, but he was still aware of those around him, staying as still as he could to not be in pain.

The phoenix zoan then placed his hand gently over Luffy's, coating his hand in blue flames. Ace and Sabo felt hope that his healing flames would help Luffy, but they did nothing but make Luffy's skin itch. Marco's face fell, as that was their only hope.

"Get down!" Whitebeard shouted suddenly as the windows in the room imploded and water began to rush in. But, Sabo was quick and used the large bubbly coral he was sitting next to to make sure there was still air for the humans and Luffy. It wasn't a big hole, but it had definitely been burst through with some velocity.

A _very_ disturbing looking dragon had busted its way through the bubble and fallen down into the palace, but had made its way inside. It was not like any of the dragons they had come across before. This one had a wide face and it's eyes were a pale white. The skin was black and was patterned almost like a skeleton. No one touched it or approached it, put off by its appearance.

Sabo assumed it was a bottom feeder dragon based on its eyes and it looked like deep sea fish that he'd read about in a book on the ship. It crawled to Luffy, looking uncomfortable and gasping for air. But, it climbed onto the bed determinedly and looked like it was going to eat Luffy by opening its mouth wide.

Ace grabbed Marco's arm when he went to rush in to help Luffy. "Wait, don't do anything," Ace said in a low voice.

Luffy didn't show any fear in the face of the jagged teeth. He knew a dragon wouldn't hurt him, and wouldn't risk death to just come in and kill Luffy, who was bigger than it was. Instead of doing anything bad to Luffy, it let out tons of drool all over his face, arms and hands. Marco seemed to then remember dragon saliva is good for healing. No one in the room but Ace and Sabo had ever seen a dragon heal with saliva.

The irritated cuts on Luffy's now-abnormal fingers gradually lost their agitated redness and healed, though the fingers didn't go back to how they had been, only weren't bloody and injured anymore. The cuts in Luffy's face from the large teeth closed up. His hands didn't hurt anymore, so Luffy pet the small dragon before grabbing it and tossing it out of the bubble, where it was able to breathe again, and swam away and back out of the bubbles.

Ace and Sabo hurried forward to Luffy, who looked miserable at his fingers. Now, he wasn't anything. He wasn't human or dragon, just some mix and matched monster. The burns on his hands had been healed, were still a bit pink, but were no longer inflamed and raw.

Sabo gently took Luffy's left hand while Ace took the right. They both knew Luffy so well they assumed what his thoughts were. "You're still our brother, no matter what form you take," Ace said gently. He intertwined Luffy's fingers in his. "You had claws before anyways." Luffy smiled a small smile and Sabo leaned forward to kiss his forehead.

"Marco, how much longer until the ship is coated and we can leave?" Ace asked quietly. Otohime replied.

"I can have the ship coated by the end of tomorrow and you can leave as soon as possible," the queen said. She had clearly taken a liking to the three and cared about Luffy. Maybe even more now that he saved her. But, she had to know he did it for his brothers and not just her. Though no one would say that and risk retaliation.

"Thank you, Queen Otohime," Whitebeard said sincerely. "We need to get Luffy to the witch as soon as possible. Now we may have more troubles happening if this progresses." There was a knock on the door and a guard came in, looking at Luffy with unease. Ace and Sabo glared at him for giving Luffy that wary look.

"Queen, we have restrained the attacker. Hody Jones, one of our own guards. Jinbei has gotten all of the information out of him, and he is locked up in the dungeon. Princess Shirahoshi is very upset and wishes to see you," the guard explained. The three fishmen princes hurried out of the room, and Otohime followed after giving the brothers a thankful and respectful nod of her head.

Luffy fell asleep, exhausted from what had happened emotionally and physically.

"Ace, Sabo, what happened? In detail," Whitebeard asked quietly, not wanting to wake Luffy. They were very lucky that dragon had come down and relieved Luffy of his pain. With the wounds healed, they didn't need to worry about infections.

Sabo explained the whole story, in detail as the captain had asked. "Do you think he'd be able to break the curse himself?" Sabo asked quietly once the story was over.

"No, I don't. This is not how I assume he looks as a dragon. He might rip his body apart, trying to change itself back. It's best to not even give him the idea that he could somehow force his way back to normal," the captain replied, making both teens flinch at the hard truth of his words. "We need to hurry more now. I have a feeling it will get worse before it gets better unless we get him to Robin as soon as possible. Queen Otohime has promised we can leave tomorrow, and we will. Until then, I recommend keeping Luffy unconscious."

Ace and Sabo nodded, with Marco looked ashamed. Whitebeard turned to him and said, "We've known for decades that your flames can't heal anyone else. Don't beat yourself up for it," to his first mate and son. Marco mumbled that he knew, he just wanted to try and be of some help.

The room was silent save for Luffy's breathing. After he woke up, and got some food into him, which was mashed up fish since they didn't know if he could chew wit his teeth like that, he was put to sleep with an IV drip to keep him unconscious, and another IV drip to keep him hydrated. The brothers barely ate their own food, scared of what was next and not liking Luffy being unconscious, though they both trusted the pirates to not take advantage of the dragon while he was incapacitated.

The night passed slowly, and they both had trouble sleeping out of their worries and nerves. Now that they were closer to getting to the witch, the more they both started to worry about what would come after if Luffy was unable to turn back? And now that he was was messed up, what would he do if he couldn't get fixed? It made sleeping nearly impossible, but at least Luffy stayed asleep all night.

-x-

Marco couldn't sleep. He didn't necessarily need sleep, as his regenerative abilities let him function without sleep, but it was always nice to be able to go to bed and forget about that day's problems. After being in bed for five hours, he got up and headed towards the palace's infirmary, keeping an air bubble around him through the water.

The Moby Dick was docked in the lower bubble, set to be coated first thing in the morning, and all of the pirates were at the palace. The feast wasn't nearly as cheerful as it has been previously. One, Otohime was almost killed, and two, Luffy was a deformed mess and there was no way to change him back unless Robin could break the damn curse.

Marco would miss them, to be honest. Even though Luffy could be a pain in the ass, Marco had hoped that by now, they would be friends. But Luffy was just as hateful towards humans as he was before. Otohime had said he seemed to take a liking to her, which was nice, but it would have been even better if she was human and therefore Luffy could no longer say humans were all bad.

With the exception of Ace and Sabo, who Luffy didn't seem to recognize are humans until someone points it out. Luffy's run in with the Celestial Dragons and those three idiots who ruined everything had managed to keep him hating humans just as much as before. Marco had no idea what the brothers were planning to do after Luffy was changed back, if everything went according to plan. But, Luffy could fly, and so had a way to get them from place to place.

And his saliva, since dragon saliva had been proven to heal or help heal wounds. But they were still all just kids. They were kids living alone in a jungle before, but now that they've lived under a roof, maybe they don't want to live like that anymore? Well, that wasn't the case with Luffy, who hated sleeping indoors.

Marco was just worried something would happen to them all on their own. But Marco knew Luffy would not want to continue living on a ship when he could go to other places. And besides, he would be harder to keep around once he was back to being a dragon. He'd be much bigger, would be able to hunt for his own food, unable to communicate anymore. It just wasn't going to work out with him being a dragon and staying with them.

The pirate would also miss seeing dragons. They were incredible to observe and see be so kind and gentle, or strong and fearsome. Once Luffy was gone, the dragons would probably go back to avoiding the Moby Dick, taking the wonder their presence brought Marco with them. But then, maybe the ship would no longer be bumped all the time, or have creatures climb all over it, or have dragons punch their way through the Adam's Wood.

There were definite pros to having the boys leave. Mostly, everyone would be able to be themselves again, not worrying about offending or scaring their resident dragon. They would also not be growled at, or insulted constantly. It was just a dividing feeling, knowing the boys would be leaving soon. Because, even if Robin couldn't fix it, there had to be other witches, and the promise was to turn Luffy back into a dragon. Whether it be by Robin or some other witch they could find.

When Marco got to the infirmary, he stopped outside the door and heard Sabo reading Ace a story. Luffy was asleep, so he wasn't hearing it. Marco peeked around the corner as saw Ace hunched over against the wall, head in his knees. Sabo's voice was soft as he read Ace a story about a mermaid who could speak to animals.

"Are you asleep, yet, Ace? I told you I'd keep watch, and he has machines to tell us if something goes wrong," Sabo said softly. Ace made a "hmm" noise, but didn't look up. "It'll be okay." Ace looked up, glaring at Sabo.

"Do you honestly still think that?" he asked harshly, though in a quiet voice to not risk waking Luffy, who was deep asleep. Sabo didn't answer. "We can't do shit, Sab. Look at him, we couldn't do anything. Again, the dragons save the day. They always save the day…" Ace mumbled. He brought his knees up closer and hugged them, glancing at the bed Luffy was on.

"Luffy likes being with us. The dragons will always be able to do more for him than he will physically. We're number one emotionally. We're not related, none of us are, but we're still brothers. So what if we're human and he's not. It's never bothered you before," Sabo argued.

"Because we've always _been there_ before. We're completely useless now. Now no one can help him except the Whitebeards. Not the dragons, not us, but _them._ I feel like a shit brother, 'Bo. I know - I've always known - things are different with Luffy, but it's never been a problem before lately," Ace confessed. Sabo closed the book gently and walked to Ace and sat next to him. Sabo wrapped an arm around Ace's shoulder, and the dark haired teen began to sob.

Marco didn't want to eavesdrop anymore, and left, having checked on Luffy enough to see he had no change. He left the wing with a sad frown on, feeling bad for them. He knew what it was like to be helpless when someone you love was in trouble. That's why he tried so hard to let his healing flames heal someone else. But, for the last thirty years, it's never worked, and he doesnt stop trying.

Marco didn't sleep the rest of the night, and had gone in to check on the brothers a second time, and this time Sabo was sleeping against the wall with Ace leaning against him, snoring as well. Luffy hadn't changed, but Marco kept watch, just in case.


	16. The End of the Long Journey

**RiaEvans: Thank you!**

**rel: Thanks. I don't like when people leave stories hanging or update monthly or even yearly, so I won't do that to my readers! Though I have one story that I was foolish with and posted before it was finished and have not finished it. But it could be an open ended ending and I put in the description that part 2 was on hiatus. It's a stain on my record, but it wasn't ever really very popular, so that was part of the reason I couldn't finish it. I will finish it someday, I just don't know when. I wrote over 50,000 words for it just a couple weeks ago but it died on me again!!! So frustrating.**

**Sixcupsofcoffeetogo: Thank you, I'm so happy my stories are helping you. I'm sorry if you're helping out with the coronavirus and don't have enough supplies or safety equipment. If you are, I know it's not much help, but hang in there!**

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**So, a little epilogue left after this one. Then it's over. T_T I just binged a TV show on Netflix called "Containment" and it made me cry on almost every episode. I recommend it if you like outbreak shows/movies. Though it did make me have a zombie dream, even though the show isn't about zombies. Online school is supposed to start tomorrow morning but my teacher still hasn't emailed. And I was able to post two oneshots! I can NEVER do short stories! One of them is a pairing I've never done: Shanks x Makino. Please go check it out! Anyways, enjoy~**

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Luffy didn't get to say goodbye to anyone from Fishman Island, not that he would especially wish to. He was kept unconscious, on a gurney that was brought to the Moby Dick from the palace. The guards bowed to him on his way, even if he didn't see it or know it was happening. Sabo was holding onto Luffy's limp hand as Marco and Izo lead the gurney.

Ace was carrying a thick bag of treasures for Luffy, the shells broken from when he'd fallen on top of them after getting hurt. Instead, in the bag was beautiful, one of a kind treasures and sea shells. It was the least the kingdom could do for the dragon who saved their queen.

Otohime had been honest with the kingdom and told them what Luffy really was. No one hated him for it, and Sabo and Ace hoped they would see dragons differently now that one saved their queen from death. Luffy didn't do it for that, he saved his brothers, but it would be a nice side effect, given what had happened to him afterwards.

Luffy was transported to the infirmary, Thatch taking the treasure and putting it in the boys' room. It wouldn't be theirs much longer, and Sabo could tell some of the commanders were going to miss them. He didn't address it, and Ace didn't notice it. When the ship was pushed back into the sea, there was a swarm of huge dragons waiting, just outside of the view of those in the bubble island.

No one protested, and trusted them, as a dragon grabbed onto the floatation device at the front of the ship, and swam as fast as it could to the surface. While the descent took five hours, the rise only took twenty minutes as the huge and fast dragon raced them to surface.

Ace was in the infirmary with Luffy while Sabo stayed out on deck to see what was going to happen next. He trusted Ace to handle Luffy, who was still asleep anyways. They were trying to make it so Luffy didn't have any stimuli that might affect his body. Whiskey had told Sabo that something had changed in his blood work, and keeping him asleep would probably be best. She and Tami had been irritated they were unable to help care for him, but there wasn't anything either of them could have done to make it any better.

"What is that?" Sabo asked, pointing to the surface that had multiple dark circles above them. "Whitebeard, what are those circles?" The captain had a deep frown on.

"Those are ships, with sea stone bottoms. They are marine ships, but I don't think they will cause us a problem," the captain replied as he, Sabo and everyone on deck watched dragons race froward and obliterate the marine ships, attacking them ferociously until the water was full of debris and some blood.

The main dragon bringing them up easily cleared away the debris with a flick of its beautiful and long tail, and soon the ship was back into open air, everyone holding onto the railing as water sloshed over the sides of the ship. Sabo stumbled to the side but Whitebeard steadied him with a hand.

"Thanks," Sabo said. Whitebeard nodded.

"Why don't you go inside, Sabo? I think it would be safer for you to be inside. The New World is nothing compared to Paradise. These seas will kill you if you aren't ready. We should be at the island in less than two days," Whitebeard informed. "And with the dragons' help, even less." Sabo nodded and hurried inside, passing pirates running around the place frantically, and it made Sabo worry.

Was the New World really so bad? He hurried to the infirmary, where Ace was sitting on the bed next to Luffy's head. "We're here. Whitebeard says it'll take two days at the most to get there. How is Luffy doing?" When Ace looked worried up to Sabo, the blonde grew uneasy.

"I think he's having bad dreams," Ace said, not responding to Sabo's first statements. Sabo hurried over, and asked what his brother meant. "He keeps mumbling things and twitching, but he'd heavily medicated." Ace put his fingers to his lips in worry. "It's gonna be a long two days."

Sabo pulled the doctor's chair up next to the bed and sat down, gently touching Luffy's cheek. He was muttering under his breath, though the brothers couldn't understand what he was saying. And Luffy didn't usually talk when he wanted to, so who was he trying to talk to? In his dreams? They hoped his dreams weren't too bad, and thought they were doing the right thing with keeping him asleep.

Both of them were silent for much of the day, holding Luffy's hands gently or caressing his face lovingly, wanting him to know they were there for him and that the journey was nearly over. He just had to hang on for a couple more days, and then things would be right again.

Ace found himself talking to Luffy in a soft voice, saying things like, "You can fly again and catch us some birds. Remember when you would catch birds in the trees when learning to fly?" He said kind things, bringing up good memories, even if Luffy was unable to hear them. They felt good to say, and Sabo enjoyed hearing them as well. So it was a self-motivator for both of them to think of better days. Days they were going to return to.

Commanders came in periodically to check on the boys, as they now mostly ignored everyone that wasn't in the infirmary with them. The teens didn't even leave the infirmary to use the bathroom, but used the nurse's bathrooms. Even if they didn't give them permission to, which they did, the teens would use them anyway. They weren't going anywhere too far from Luffy. Not while he was injured and extremely vulnerable in case anyone wanted to off him in his sleep.

Luffy was given nutrients through the IV, and was kept completely dead to the world as he laid still in bed. Things felt boring for the brothers when Luffy wasn't awake. They were unusually quiet with each other when he was like this. They didn't want him to miss anything important, so they stayed silent. The room was too quiet, but they couldn't bring themselves to talk.

An hour before dinner, Luffy started muttering again, but when Ace got closer, he could understand what Luffy was saying. " _N...no more hoo...hoomin,"_ he mumbled, and turned his head restlessly. Ace put his hand on Luffy's deformed one, and said, "Not much longer, Lu."

The words didn't reach the dragon as he started twitching. Suddenly, his eyes flew open, showing the unnerving solid blue eyes and slitted black pupils. " _NO MORE HOOMIN!"_ he screamed at the top of his lungs and the small horns that protracted from his dragon forehead and followed down his long neck started to come out of his still human forehead, tearing the skin and causing blood to dribble down his face.

"Luffy! Luffy, stop!" Ace shouted, trying to hold him down as he thrashed, ripping the IVs out of his arms. "LUFFY! NURSE! Nurse, help!"

Sabo sprinted off to get help, and came back with Izo and Whiskey, Tami waking up from a scheduled nap to try and subdue Luffy. He thrashed around, screaming the same words while also screaming in pain.

"Damn it!" Whiskey swore as she tried to inject an extremely strong sedative into Luffy's arm, but he wouldn't be still and wasn't with them at the moment, even if he was awake. Finally, the thick needled went into his skin, and she injected the entire syringe, stilling Luffy.

Ace was crying into Sabo's chest, who was hugging him. Again, Ace and Sabo could do nothing to help. What horrible brothers, unable to help at all. Whiskey made sure to come in and keep him more sedated. No dragons came this time, which worried the brothers.

Tami disinfected the bloody area where the horns had come through his hair and forehead skin. There were clumps of black hair now on the bed stand from where the horns had come from. They were an unhealthy looking yellow, not the bright white they usually were. Luffy was trying to break the curse himself but was just making things worse.

Morale was low for the brothers and the commanders who cared about the dragon. He was a mess, and the ship didn't even stop for the night, even though it was dangerous, because Luffy was getting worse. He was sweating profusely now, and his hands shook every now and then, but he didn't wake up.

-x-

They reached the island the next morning, after not stopping the ship overnight had saved them a lot of time. They were unscheduled to land, so people were surprised that they had come, but were happy about it. They owned the island, and were good people, so the citizens were always glad to see them.

Marco and Izo ran to Robin's house, ignoring those inviting them to have a drink at the bar, or to come and try some of their new food. But the two just sprinted to the edge of the city, where the witch lived. Both of the commanders were frightened that Robin would be unable to do anything.

The phoenix knocked on her door with shaking hands. It wasn't too early, so Robin should be awake by then and they wouldn't have disturbed her sleep. She opened the door and looked at them in curious surprise.

"Hello, commanders. I wasn't expecting to see you anytime soon. How can I help you?" Robin asked pleasantly, like she couldn't see their nervousness. Izo licked his lips before replying.

"We've sailed here to come to you. Can you break other witches curses?" the crossdresser asked nervously. Robin looked surprised.

"Yes, I can. Has one fo your crew been cursed?" she questioned. Probably thinking whoever they were were stupid to curse pirates like the Whitebeards. Izo shook his head, but Marco was the one to answer. So, Robin could do it, but did it mean she would? Did she not like dragons? They'd never really talked about that with her before.

"A dragon is on our ship. He was cursed into a human body and we want to change him back. He's very ill right now, as he's been trying to break the curse himself and has left his body deformed. We need him changed back as soon as possible," Marco explained. Robin's eyes grew wide.

She turned to the side and pulled a coat on before telling them to lead her there. "He could die by trying to break the curse himself. I'll fix him, don't worry," the witch said confidently. Marco almost had tears in his eyes, but he didn't let them show or fall. Luffy would be fixed! Finally, _finally,_ he would be happy again. Be himself, not in the form of his most hated enemy.

When they reached the ship, running, they found Ace and Sabo with Luffy's body sleeping on the grass, waiting for the witch to be brought. Robin's eyes widened when she saw the state of the dragon. She looked incredibly sad with it. How hard this boy had been fighting to break the curse, endangering his life by doing so.

"You have kept him asleep? That was a good choice," Robn commented. She crouched in front of Luffy, and gave his brothers a kind smile. "I'm here to help him. Why don't we take him someplace more secluded?" She didn't like people watching her work, but she would let these teens be there for their brother.

-x-

The moment Luffy was unhooked from the sedative, he woke up, and was frightened and confused about where he was. "We're here, Luffy. It's almost over," Ace said as Luffy was in his arms. Sabo was looking hopeful, and feeling so excited as Robin seemed confident she could fix Luffy.

Luffy was a bit loopy, and didn't seem to be able to register what Ace had said, he brought a hand to his forehead, but Sabo caught it gently and lowered it back down. "Don't touch it, Lu, it might hurt," the blonde said kindly. Luffy nodded, and relaxed back in Ace's arms.

Suddenly, Ace was feeling sad. He wanted Luffy to be a dragon again, but he would never speak again or be held in Ace's arms. He missed dragon Luffy, but he knew both he and Sabo would also miss human Luffy.

"Set him down over there," Robin said, and pointed to a grassy area in a clearing surrounded by trees. None of the Whitebeards had tried to follow. When Luffy was set down, fully awake and laying down on his stomach like Robin said, small and medium sized dragons peeked through the gaps in the trees. Robin didn't seem concerned, and neither did any of the brothers.

Luffy was looking nervous, but hopeful. "Luf Ace an' Sabo," Luffy said, the last words he would say as a human.

"We love you more," Sabo said, and he was holding Ace's hand tightly. Robin held out her hands, and it took only a few seconds for it to work, a sound like an explosion was made, but not painfully loud, and then Luffy's messed up human body began to warp in an almost disturbing way, but there was no blood and no pained screams.

His body grew in size, with bones looking like they were snapped and reformed into stronger and more angular limbs. His hair disappeared as his face elongated into a snout, healthy looking horns sprouting from his thick skin, now turning shimmery blue in all areas. Toes elongated and sharpened into pointy claws, his hands back to being long and jagged fingers with small thumbs.

A long tail sprouted from his lower spine and stretched out, little flaps at the end. Wings exploded out of his back and stretched into the air, wide and beautiful. It only happened in about the span of thirty seconds before it was still, and Luffy was back in dragon form. He was back to what he really was.

Luffy let loose a glass shattering roar that caused birds to fly from the trees, and other dragons roared, too, from the trees. Right after that, Luffy flapped his wings twice and soared into the air with ease, like it hadn't been many weeks since he last flew. He flew high into the air and flew around the circumference of the island, and then landed with a heavy thud in front of his brothers.

Ace and Sabo both had tears in their eyes, as Luffy was back to his old self, true self, and was exuding happiness. Ace and Sabo hugged him around his thick neck. It was weird, to be smaller than him again. "This is gonna be hard to get used to again," Sabo said against Luffy's thick skin. Luffy rested his chin on Sabo's head, and sat on his back legs to wrap his arms around his brothers.

Robin was watching with a smile on her face. Ace turned to her and got out of Luffy's arms to bow to her. "Thank you!" Sabo bowed, too. But Luffy didn't, and gave her a nod in thanks.

"It was quite easy, since Luffy already broke some of the curse himself. Though, I recommend to never try again. You could have died," Robin explained. Luffy nodded, though he had wanted to be a dragon again so badly he couldn't wait anymore. Especially with that strange nightmare he was stuck in for the longest time. With Mama and his siblings afraid of the human Luffy.

"I specialize in spells in the human body, do you want me to give you the skill to speak even in dragon form?" Robin offered. She was surprised when Luffy shook his head. Ace and Sabo weren't surprised, though. "Really? Why not?"

"He doesn't want to be any part human, even if speaking is convenient sometimes," Sabo said, expecting the answer once Robin asked the question. "He's been human long enough, and doesn't want any part of him to still be. Right?" The blue dragon nodded. "Besides, we've been fine for ten years with him unable to speak."

Robin smiled in understanding. "Then I am glad I was able to help. Do you mind if I ask what got him cursed in the first place?"

"He ate the witch's horse, not knowing it was domesticated," Ace supplied, back to being against Luffy. He turned to his brother and looked at the eyes that had been scary in his human form, but were beautiful in his dragon body. Luffy knew they would both have trouble with it at first, but he was happier like this, and knew his brothers wanted him to be happy. And how they didn't need to feel like they had to take care of him and weren't worth it if they were unable to.

"Why don't we go show the Whitebeard's your _real_ form? And thank them," Sabo suggested. Luffy nodded and crouched down so Ace and Sabo could climb on. It had been over two months since the last time they flew, so getting situated was difficult at first, but they held on just fine when Luffy launched off of the ground with powerful and muscular legs, flying down to the shore, where the Whitebeards were all waiting quietly.

-x-

The crew waited nervously while no noise was made on the hill where the brothers and witch were. What if something went wrong? What if it was actually impossible for Luffy to change back at all, and would be deformed the rest of his life? Marco tapped his foot in agitation and nerves, while Izo stood still and watched the hill. Thatch was poking his toe in the grass, pouting and was going to miss the boys, even the cranky one.

When there was a huge crack noise and bright light, those on the ground and not waiting in the ship flinched, but wore grins when they heard a loud roar. But, of course, it could be any of the dragons that had appeared to go and watch.

Though, there was no denying that Luffy was back to normal when Ace and Sabo were riding on a gorgeous blue dragon. It was shorter than Pops was, but length wise, the tail might make him longer. Marco was amazed when Luffy landed in front of them with a thud, with all of the pirates outside cheering.

Luffy was very clearly not a water dragon, as none of his feet were webbed and had no fins on his tail like most of the water dragons he had seen had. Whitebeard bowed deeply, and the other pirates followed. It finally made sense to bow to Luffy as he was a dragon now. Not a cranky human child. Ace and Sabo slid off of him, and he tucked his large wings against his body.

The sense of danger that Marco had gotten at the beginning had easily quadrupled. He didn't think that Luffy would attack any of them, but his phoenix still knew that he was a dragon that _could_ be dangerous, not that he would be. Marco wanted to pet him, but had a feeling Luffy wouldn't appreciate it, so he resisted.

"Luffy, you're so pretty," Thatch gushed. Luffy gave a sort of squawk noise, and Marco realized that he couldn't speak anymore.

"Couldn't Robin make it so he can still talk?" Izo wondered after Luffy didn't reply in words. Ace and Sabo shook their heads.

"She could, but Luffy doesn't want that. He's sick of all things human, and that includes the ability to speak," Sabo explained. The rest of the crew understood, though Marco knew no one would want to give up speech if they could _choose_ to.

"So, what's next for you three?" Whitebeard asked curiously. "You sure you don't want to stick around?"

Ace rubbed his hand down Luffy's neck. "We wanna be free. We're not staying on your crew," he said with a soft smile at Luffy. "Besides, I doubt Luffy would want to stay in one place now that he has his wings back. We'll find another home, probably back in Paradise, like Luffy's mama would want."

"How will you find your way back?" Marco asked. Luffy gave him an unimpressed look, somehow able to show emotions on his dragon face.

"Luffy's a dragon again, he has senses better than any human, and better instincts, too. Plus, he can now communicate with dragons again, and can just ask for directions," Sabo replied. "Luffy why don't you show them your powers? You haven't used them in awhile, not counting the nightmare on Fishman Island." Luffy nodded and turned the ground beneath the pirates to ice, all of them slipping and sliding on their butts.

Luffy chuffed out laughter, with Ace chuckled and Sabo smiling. They had both jumped on Luffy's back while he stood perfectly fine on the ice. "Ace, why don't you go get our stuff?" Sabo asked, and Ace nodded and hurried inside to get their things. The crew was surprised.

"You're leaving already?" Thatch whined. Luffy nodded his head decisively, and Sabo and Ace didn't seem to have a problem with that. "You don't even want one last meal?" Luffy made a huffing noise, so Sabo replied, "How about one to go?"

Thatch nodded and ran inside to get them something to go. It was left overs from breakfast that everyone except the brothers had had, and Thatch brought out a massive chunk of sea king meat for Luffy to eat raw, finally truly raw, instead of just slightly cooked. When the food was brought out, it was in two lunch boxes that they didn't mind getting rid of, and Ace came out with the bag of treasures Luffy had been given after he saved Queen Otohime, and a sack with Ace and Sabo's new clothes in it.

Luffy immediately tore into the meat he was given, his strong jaws and sharp teeth ripping it apart easily. Izo had gone inside after Thatch, and had a backpack ready with things the brothers would need to survive until they found a new home island. It had a lighter, some matches, a water purifier, a normal compass and a spare Paradise log pose. "Here, I wouldn't feel right if we didn't give you some help."

"You've given us more than enough help, but thank you," Sabo said. The three brothers were in a better mood than any of the pirates had ever seen with them on the ship. Sabo looked inside the bag while Ace downed his food. Sabo kept his packed up for later. When Luffy sniffed the treasure bag curiously, Ace dumped it on the ground, showing all of the valuables and shiny objects. They could fetch a pretty penny if they ever needed the money, but until then, they were Luffy's treasures. Marco was surprised when the dragon ate all of it. But then he remembered in the book that most dragons kept their valuables in a pocket beneath the stomach.

Marco wished he could stay with Luffy like this awhile longer, but the dragon was itching to leave, truly showing the pirates that he would never be domesticated. Even after over a month of being treated well (mostly) and fed and housed, Luffy was still a wild dragon. An apex predator that had no business living on a human ship.

"We'll see you again some day," Ace said once the backpack was securely on his back, and Sabo was sitting behind him. The two fit snugly on Luffy, obviously having been used to flying on him as they were leaned back just slightly in a deliberate way. "And we can't thank you enough."

"We look forward to meeting again," Marco said with a sad smile. "Thanks for the adventure." Whitebeard was grinning widely, and Thatch was crying, a tissue under his nose. The other commanders looked a bit bittersweet, but were clearly glad to Marco's eyes. Things would go back to normal, no more dragons.

Ace pat Luffy's neck, and he launched into the sky, both Ace and Sabo holding on with their legs clamped tightly around Luffy's sides. "Goodbye!" Sabo called, his voice fading the higher Luffy climbed. Luffy let out a loud roar and flew away, back the way they had come.

Marco would miss them, but was glad he got to have the incredibly unique experience that the three had brought. And he was happy for Luffy, very much. He did believe they would see the brothers again one day, and would look forward to then.

For now, well, they would have a party celebrating the success of their mission and the freedom of the disadvantaged kids they had brought from one side of the world to the other.


	17. Four Years Later

####  **Exogot7teenbangtanboys: Thank you! That is quite a long username lol.**

**Sixcupsofcoffeetogo: <3 Thank you! Thanks so much for being a regular reviewer. I've posted some new stories since the last chapter of this one. One is a fix it, since I haven't done one yet. The other is romance/angst. **

**rel: <3 <3 Thanks so much! I loved writing Luffy and the relationship he had with the other dragons. Some more of that in this chapter. Thanks for sticking with it until the end!**

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**Last chapter! Since the last time I published on this story, I've started submitting 2 more plus some one-shots. Gotta love quarantine. Lot's of time to write. Anyways, it's 12:01 AM and I'm just gonna submit it as soon as possible. No bedtime since class is all online now... yayyy. So thanks for all those who stuck with it for so long! Enjoy the short epilogue!**

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Four years later

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Luffy was flying high above the ocean when he smelled something vaguely familiar from below. He and his brothers were high enough that they didn't see the ship since it was small and it was night time. Luffy looked towards the scent and saw the ship that was resting in the calm waters.

_Pirates!_ the dragon flying slightly below him said in Luffy's mind. Luffy squawked loudly to wake his sleeping brothers, and started slowly lowering himself down and closer to the ship. "What is it?" Ace mumbled with a yawn. He and Sabo were securely strapped down to Luffy's harness, so they were able to sleep when the brothers grew tired of the island they were on.

Over the past four years, the three of them, plus whatever dragons felt like tagging along, had explored nearly the entire planet. They hadn't made it to the end of the New World, because many of the dragons near the end of it were not very friendly, and Luffy didn't like that. They didn't need to worry about rough waters since they flew everywhere, and the calm belt wasn't off limits to them since the air was perfectly safe and the still waters changed nothing.

_We're going to go see them for awhile,_ Luffy said to the small dragons that had been gliding with him. Ace and Sabo rarely interacted with the visitor dragons, but Luffy enjoyed their company. It was a win-win for everyone. Luffy never left his brothers but he was still able to interact with his own kind.

Luffy landed on the Moby Dick's deck with a heavy thud, alerting the pirates on watch that they had arrived. Ace woke Sabo, who was sleepy still, as it was three in the morning and Luffy had been flying for hours. Ace unclipped his belt from Luffy's harness and Sabo followed suit, finally catching on as to why they were awake and where Luffy had landed.

"No growling, Lu, remember they're our friends," Ace warned. Luffy nodded, though he was a bit restless. He rarely spent any time near humans anymore. He still didn't like them one bit, but would be glad to see their saviours again after all these years.

The dragon was sixteen now, and both Ace and Sabo were twenty two. Ace had eaten a devil fruit and was now arguably more powerful than Sabo was, who still used the pipe as it was his favorite.

"Hey guys!" Ace shouted when he saw Marco and Whitebeard come out in a hurry, both tired but happy to see them. Ace knew they must look strange. Luffy had a leather harness that wrapped around his body snugly, and a leather strap around his neck that connected with another rope for them to hold on to. Luffy didn't think of it as a saddle for them to ride on, but a safety mechanism for his brothers to not fall off.

Both brothers had chest pieces on that clipped to Luffy's harness. They had paid a lot of money to have it made, at the most dragon friendly village they'd ever seen back in the New World calm belt. The only place that had other dragons that lived with humans. Ace and Sabo had offered to stay there, but Luffy had gotten used to traveling and enjoyed it. They brothers did too, but they had a unique opportunity, and had wanted to take it if Luffy did.

The three had visited the place many times over the years, so they didn't leave it for forever.

Sabo and Ace ran to Marco and Whitebeard. Ace jumped Marco and hugged him while Sabo bowed respectfully. Luffy laid down on his stomach on the deck and unclipped the bags with his teeth. They hung under Luffy's tail when they flew long distances.

Marco was beaming while Whitebeard was laughing, and announced to those on deck that they would be having a party that day. When Whitebeard turned to Luffy, who was much bigger than last time they'd been together, he bowed deeply. Luffy gruffed and nodded to him as well. A few of the dragons that had been flying with the brothers were on the yardarms, looking uncomfortable.

_It's okay, they won't hurt us,_ Luffy said. A few squeaks came from the small dragons as they landed on the deck, much lighter than Luffy had, but they were also many times smaller than he was. Luffy watched as one of the pirates who was on watch went inside to wake people up.

The feast was really a very huge breakfast with alcohol served much too early in the day. Luffy napped most of it, glad for some rest. He couldn't talk with the humans and decided he just wanted a nap.

No one was dumb enough to touch or wake him up, and they sat far from him. A couple dragons had flocked down to rest with Luffy, once again showing the humans how affectionate dragons were with each other.

It was very clear to the pirates that the now young men had grown substantially in strength. They now gave off a presence that a weaker man would never challenge, and Ace was extremely muscled now. He went shirtless under the chest piece that he only wore while on Luffy. Sabo dressed as a gentleman and the two bet everyone was wondering where they got the money for everything. Well, the treasure the fishmen had given Luffy was more valuable than they could have ever thought and the three were selling them off slowly, with Luffy's permission of course.

Luffy wasn't awake to hear that his act of protection of his brothers, and Queen Otohime, had changed everyone's view of dragons in the Fishman capital. They still didn't visit the city, but public opinion of them had changed. Ace and Sabo grinned at this, and looked forward to telling Luffy, but wouldn't wake him up now after such a long flight.

"So, why did that guy attack the queen?" Sabo wondered. Ace was next to him, devouring some chocolate pancakes, and leaning against Luffy, who had the harness taken off since they would be there for awhile. The little dragons were still uneasy about being near all of the humans, but they were given respect, even if they were tiny, yet prideful, creatures, based on the fact that these pirates had lived on the ship for over a month with a testy dragon once upon a time.

Marco took a large swig of his rum and then replied with, "Hody didn't like how progressive Otohime was with wanting to be friendly with humans on the surface. Sadly, though their views on dragons have changed, most of the peoples' views on humans have not."

Ace tossed his pancake to the chirpy dragons, who seemed interested in the food but too wary to approach the plate. No one was surprised when the dragons didn't like the smell, and jumped over to another spot by the large dragon still sleeping.

"So, what have you guys been doing?" Thatch questioned.

"Flying all over the world. Luffy finally came to terms with leaving Paradise and that he wouldn't upset his mama. We've gone almost everywhere, but the end of the New World has not so friendly dragons, and Luffy doesn't like that. They spend time with him everywhere. We'll be flying and all of the sudden a bunch of dragons will fly up and hang out with us. We're not stupid, and don't touch them, but they are harmless as long as we don't do anything," Sabo replied. Ace nodded in agreement. "Ace got bitten by one of them after accidentally touching one that was flying next to us. But it was a tiny one, and it didn't hurt much and everything was fine after Ace apologized to it."

"We found an island in the New World Calm Belt where the people living there live alongside dragons, too. That's kind of our home base since we return to there often, but we don't really stay in one place too long. There's too much to see in the world to stay in one place," Ace said around his food.

Whitebeard laughed loudly. "You two have a pirate mindset," he said in his gruff voice. "Would have made great additions to our crew." Ace shook his head.

"No way were we gonna take orders from someone else," he said strongly. "We're our own crew and don't have any limitations due to terrain or enemies. Besides, with a dragon on our side, we're almost invincible. The dragons care too much about each other to let Luffy be in danger." Luffy wrinkled his nose and made a gruff noise, and Ace got the idea and moved the pancake away from his face, as it smelled bad to the dragon.

"And we would have had to get tattoos of your jolly roger, we get to choose our own tattoos," Sabo said, and nudged Ace to take his chest piece off. Sabo pulled his glove off to show a tattoo on his hand that Ace had a larger one on his back.

It was a black and white tattoo of a tribalized image of Luffy as a dragon. It was simple but beautiful. "I'm sure our adventures are better than yours anyway," Ace said lightly. "We don't gotta worry about marines of any type."

Whitebeard chuckled and Marco snorted at his bluntness. "Oh! You know how Luffy was terrified of that guy from Water 7? Lucci? Well, apparently, he's a member of CP9. A government guy in disguise," Marco explained. "So, Luffy wasn't afraid for an unjust reason."

Sabo smiled, and they could see Luffy smile softly, and he was clearly listening. Ace rest his hand on Luffy's cheek, and the dragon adjusted his head so it was resting in Ace's warm hand. The two brothers talked like old friends with the Whitebeard commanders as Luffy continued to relax, since they'd be leaving again soon and he wanted to be well-rested.

Seeing everyone again was nice for both parties, and Luffy was glad the humans could see him like he was and not in a pathetic child human body. When the three left again, little dragons flapping away after them, both the brothers and pirates were in a great mood, looking fondly at the past for their own reasons. Luffy would make sure to bring Ace and Sabo back to them one day.

They were going to continue to explore the world, and would no doubt come across the humans again. After all, the Whitebeards were often in the news when Luffy would rob a News Coo from the bird. They were a big presence on the sea, which Luffy and his brothers didn't need to worry about that at all. They were freer than anybody.

The End


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